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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26886247">Gamer of the Void</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiftysword/pseuds/shiftysword'>shiftysword</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Highschool DxD (Anime), Huniepop &amp; Huniecam (Video Games), 더 게이머 | The Gamer (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, F/M, Genderbending, Harems, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Original Character(s), Wish Fulfillment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:13:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>356,360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26886247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiftysword/pseuds/shiftysword</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being rescued from the Void by a passing Love Fairy, Axton enters the world of Highschool DxD with the power of the Gamer. His life of adventures and a sexy harem start here! Lemons and a morally grey protagonist.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanakai Momo/Original Male Character(s), Kiryuu Aika/Original Male Character(s), Kyu Sugardust/Male Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>203</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>430</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>AN: Hey guys, thanks for checking out this fic. This is a multicross Gamer story inspired by TheDarkWolfShiro's works and a lot of the stuff he's inspired others to write as well. I don't really have a lot of plans for this fic, it's mostly been me making it up as I go along, but it's been fun to write and I'd like some feed back so I figured I'd publish it. Updates will be whenever, and will be of whatever size I feel is a complete chapter. Probably between 3k-10k, but who knows.</p><p>Warnings: If you missed it in the tags there will be smut with the cast of the worlds visited and the MC is morally grey.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Void.</p><p> </p><p>As far as I can tell, that’s where I am right now, surrounded by nothing. There’s no sensation, no thoughts, and I can’t remember how I got here. All I remember is going to bed one day and then...nothing. I’m here, wherever here is. The passage of time is impossible to track as well, so I can’t even guess how long I was here.</p><p> </p><p>But eventually I feel something, a presence approaching me. Or at least, I think it is. I can feel something from a direction I don’t have a reference for and it’s slowly getting stronger. The feeling continues to get stronger until it suddenly stops. For a while, nothing changes, but then I feel a burst of heat-</p><p> </p><p>Sensations flood into me. Like a switch has been flipped, I can suddenly see and hear and think again. Though I still don’t seem to have a body, and around me was void. Except for right in front of me, where there’s a woman in a skimpy pink outfit, pink hair, and a large pair of iridescent wings. She was a fairy, but not just any fairy. I recognized her as <a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/huniepop/images/e/ef/Kyu_%282%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20190609025535"> Kyu </a>, the Love Fairy.</p><p> </p><p>“Aw hell yeah, I knew I could do it,” Kyu exclaims as she pumps her fist. “You should be able to hear and see and talk and junk now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh. Hello?” I speak tentatively, unsure of my new capabilities. My voice sounds like it should to me, so with a bit more confidence I decide to ask a question. “Where am I right now? How did I get here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good questions,” she replies, nodding her head in what I could only assume she thought was a wise manner. “For the where, that’s easy. You’re in the space between realities. There’s usually not much out here. I mean, there’s not all that many people that can even enter here. So when I saw a soul just floating around in here while I was going to a new world to check out, I decided to come check it out. As for the how…” She shrugs. “Honestly I was going to ask you that. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of a soul just wandering around out here.”</p><p> </p><p>“The last thing I remember is going to bed,” I reply while I process everything. First, the multiverse is real. Easy to accept, I was familiar enough with the idea. Second, I had somehow ended up in the space between realities. That was less easy to accept, but there wasn’t really much I could do about it, so I just stored that away for now. Third... “I had no idea Love Fairies travel the multiverse. Or is that just something you can do Kyu?”</p><p> </p><p>Kyu looks surprised. Oh right. She never introduced herself. Oh no wait now she’s looking excited why is she-</p><p> </p><p>“Oh man, you’re from one of those realities where a bunch of other realities are pieces of fiction right?” How the hell did she guess that- “You guys make the best clients ever. No hand-holding needed and you get the <em> biggest </em> harems. Well, if you end up in one of those ‘fictional’ realities anyways. Otherwise you guys can be pretty challenging.”</p><p> </p><p>I see. Well. Alright then. She’s daydreaming now. Or maybe remembering? I decide to speak up again. “I’m not sure about all that, but yeah I do recognize you from a dating sim game I played once.”</p><p> </p><p>My words bring her attention back to me. “Yeah, that makes sense. And if you know me, you probably know a bunch of others as well.” Her look turns thoughtful before she seems to come to a decision. “Alright, I’ll tell you what. I’m currently between clients, and I think I can help you out, so what say you and me take a multiversal trip and find some chicks to fuck?”</p><p> </p><p>Of course those are her priorities. Not that I really disagreed. Nor did I have a lot of options. “Getting out of this void and a harem?” I say, excitement in my voice. “I’d be an idiot to turn that down. Though if possible, I’d rather not have to play a match-3 game.”</p><p> </p><p>Kyu snorts. “Is that what you did in the game? Nah, fuck that. That system is for losers who just need to get laid. It wouldn’t even help get you out of this void.” She holds her hands out to me. “Nah, I’m gonna set you up with something a bit better. Not as optimized for dropping panties, but a hell of a lot more flexible, and before long you’ll have gotten laid more than that chump did with that bejeweled rip-off.”</p><p> </p><p>Her hands encompass me, which causes me to notice holy shit she’s so much bigger than me. I guess a disembodied soul isn’t very large. “Now,” she starts. “This may feel weird.”</p><p> </p><p>“Weird bad or weird good,” I ask nervously.</p><p> </p><p>“No idea!” was her far too enthusiastic reply. “Remember, the safe word is ‘banana’!”</p><p> </p><p>I start to reply but before I can an indescribable jolt runs through me. Was this how it felt to have your soul messed with? I can’t say I’m a fan. It’s not exactly painful, but it’s  unnerving. Thankfully the feeling only persists for a few short moments before fading away. I let out a sigh of relief, an act that feels strange when I don’t have a body.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Gamer system initialized</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Wait, the Gamer system? Oh hell yes, that was leagues better than some puzzle bullshit. “Kyu, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”</p><p> </p><p>“Damn straight it is,” she says. “Now come on, let’s get you a body.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Character Creation initialized</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The screen that opens up is large. Very large. This is going to take some time.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>I don’t consider myself a very vain person. My looks are my looks and that was pretty much all the effort I put into thinking about them. But I decide that, presented the opportunity to mould my looks however I want, I might as well put the effort in. Unfortunately, Kyu wanted to make me into <em> her </em> idealized boy toy, and that slowed down the process a lot. But after two hours of back and forth, we finally settle on something we both liked. </p><p> </p><p>Honestly, due to all the compromises, my features are fairly average. My height is only 5’8”. My build is a bit on the slim side but not all that much. I don’t have a lot of muscle mass to speak of but Kyu said that was based on my stats anyways so that will change. At least there isn’t much fat either. My face is handsome, but somewhat adrogynous leaning. I initially wanted something more manly, but Kyu insisted that adrogynous was cuter and would attract more girls, and this was the compromise.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://s2.vndb.org/ch/64/52164.jpg"> My </a> hair’s pure black. Kyu wanted to change it to white or something, but it’s locked in above even her ability to change. She doesn’t know why, and neither do I. My hair wasn’t black before I ended up here. I wanted to go with silver eyes, because silver is the best eye color, but Kyu is adamant that silver eyes with black hair would be too boring and monochromatic, so my eyes gold colored instead. I have to admit, they contrast well with my hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, character creation always takes too long,” Kyu complains. “Come on, let's hurry up and finish up with the game stuff so we can get this show on the road.”</p><p> </p><p><b>Classes available:<br/></b> <b>[Warrior][Rogue][Mage]</b></p><p> </p><p>Hmm. How do I wanna play this? On one hand, Magic. But on the other hand, well, Gamer. Just about any class is going to shoot me up to ridiculous levels of strength, and I’ll be able to max out a lot of classes. So really, it comes down to what I think is best for my first class in order to gain strength and survive. Playing with magic was enticing, but mages are a bit too squishy and a bit slow to ramp up until your mana pool and regen get up to snuff. Though that can be mitigated depending on the type of mage.</p><p> </p><p>“What type of Mage classes are available?” I ask Kyu, since she was the one controlling the system.</p><p> </p><p>“Just Mage,” she answers. I blink. What?</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep, just Mage. Those three classes are all you’ve got right now. More advanced subclasses are only unlocked once you max out one of those three. Though once you max out one of them, you unlock subclasses for all of them, so you can max out Warrior and then choose a more specialized Warrior, Rogue, or Mage class.”</p><p> </p><p>That’s...unfortunate. “So wait, what is the bog standard Mage class like?” I can guess for the other two, but a generic mage could go a lot of different directions.</p><p> </p><p>She shrugs. “A little bit of everything really. It’s like an introduction to magic and the types of magic there are. Good for gamers who just wanna play with magic without specializing, but doesn’t reach the same peaks as any of those specializations. The same is true for the other classes as well, though I guess they don’t have as many subclasses. There’s only so many ways you can specialize a Rogue.”</p><p> </p><p>While in general I like a jack of all trades route, that’s when my life isn’t on the line. So while magic was tempting, I’d rather choose something that <em> was </em>specialized.</p><p> </p><p>So Warrior or Rogue. Both offer me early survivability; Warrior in terms of defense and health, and Rogue in terms of stealth. Rogue also offers more utility.</p><p> </p><p>The logical choice is Warrior. You can’t go wrong with the classic sword and board. But if I was being honest with myself, it just wasn’t appealing. Warrior is just so...boring.</p><p> </p><p>Rogue though. I’m the sort of player who makes a new Skyrim character and they inevitably end up a stealth archer, no matter how they started. Stealth is just too busted and too fun. And even in games without stealth, I always prefer dodging attacks rather than just tanking them. It took more skill and practice, but was a lot more fun. And the utility of a Rogue class would offer me more options than just “kill things good”, even if it wasn’t as much as a mage.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll do Rogue then,” I say.</p><p>“Ooh, we can do some panty raids,” Kyu croons with a lecherous grin as I watch the Rogue option be selected on the menu. “Or better yet, we can steal them directly off of girls. That would be pretty hot.” </p><p> </p><p>“I thought you were more about seducing girls than stealing their panties?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a girl of <em> many </em> interests,” she smugly replies with a hand on her chest.</p><p> </p><p>Before I could reply to that, I’m distracted by the appearance of a window in front of me.</p><p> </p><p><b>Axton<br/></b> <b>Level: 1<br/></b> <b>Class: Rogue(1/100)[0%]<br/></b> <b>Race: Human<br/></b> <b>HP: 90(1%/second)<br/></b> <b>MP:110(1%/second)<br/></b> <b>SP:80(1%/second)<br/></b> <b>CON: 9<br/></b> <b>STR: 8<br/></b> <b>DEX: 13<br/></b> <b>INT: 11<br/></b> <b>WIS: 12<br/></b> <b>CHA: 10<br/></b> <b>LUK: 12</b></p><p> </p><p>“Who the hell is Axton?” I ask out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s you, silly,” Kyu giggled. I shot her a look and she shrugged. “Your old name was boring. New you, new name, you know what I’m saying?”</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, I decide not to push it. I wasn’t all that attached to my past name anyways. Once again I’m distracted by the appearance of a window.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Skills Added</b>
</p><p><b>[Gamer’s Mind](Passive) - EX<br/></b> <b>Protects the Gamer from mental and emotional manipulation, trauma, and status effects.</b></p><p><b>[Gamer’s Body](Passive) - EX<br/></b> <b>Grants the Gamer with a body of infinite potential and growth</b></p><p><b>[Observe](Active) - EX<br/></b> <b>Displays information about the target.</b></p><p><b>[Dungeon Traversal](Active) - EX<br/></b> <b>Allows for entrance and exit into a Dungeon, as well as teleportation between safe rooms</b></p><p><b>[Sneak](Active) - Lvl 1(0%)<br/></b> <b>Reduces visibility and sound created by movement, allowing for stealthy traversal. 1 SP/second</b></p><p> </p><p>“Just one Rogue skill-” I start to ask before a new window appears.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Trait Added</b>
</p><p><b>[Void Touched]<br/></b> <b>Your soul has been marked by the time spent between worlds<br/></b> <b>Unknown effects</b></p><p> </p><p>“Kyu. What the fuck is this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Looks like you’re so much of a freak that not even the system knows how you got out here.” She giggles like she didn’t just call me a freak. “It’s probably not a big deal. Just your soul being affected by being out here in a way that the system hasn’t seen before. You seem fine so it’ll either be nothing or a good thing. Or soul cancer or something. Whichever.”</p><p> </p><p>“Soul cancer,” I deadpan.</p><p> </p><p>“Relaaax, it’s probably not that. If it was harmful the system would likely be able to tell already.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s really reassuring,” I say sarcastically with a sigh. Whatever. If it becomes an issue I’ll figure it out somehow. “Alright. What’s left? Picking a world to go to I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>“About that,” she says, averting her eyes. “I maaay have been poking around while I was waiting for you to finish up your character creation and totally on accident picked and locked in your first world.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Excuse me?</p><p> </p><p>“How the hell do you accidentally pick <em> and </em> lock it in?” I ask while trying to keep my cool.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t usually use this system,” she whines. “And it’s been updated since the last time I did, everything’s rearranged. I was just trying to see more info about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Please tell me it’s not something awful,” I plead. A window appears.</p><p> </p><p><b>World Selected<br/></b> <b>Highschool DxD</b></p><p> </p><p>Okay. I can work with this. Not the best case scenario, but certainly not the worst. There are some scary motherfuckers there, but there are paths available for starting out small and then working my way up before I have to deal with them. The main issue is I had only ever read the manga and a bunch of fanfic, so my knowledge of the plot is pretty fuzzy. But I know enough in general to get by. And on the bright side, it has the biggest damn cast of eligible waifus who can basically all kick ass, which is a pretty big positive in my books.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay. That’s not too bad. Dangerous, but a lot of cute girls. This should be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the spirit champ!” Kyu cheers. “Bonus, since it’s a bit more dangerous than some of the other first world selections, you have a few more Hunies to spend on customizing the world.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hunies?”</p><p> </p><p>“Normally they’re called Credits or something dumb like that but fuck that, I renamed them Hunies. They’re a currency you can earn and spend on changing a world before you go to it. Normally you’d only get a few for free, but for choosing a world of mid-tier danger, you get a nice little chunk to play with.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright. What are my options then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s see.” Her eyes unfocus. “Oh wow. There are way too fucking many. There’s no way I’m gonna let you waste a bunch of time looking through all of these. Screw that. Just tell me what you wanna do and I’ll see if it’s in here.”</p><p> </p><p>What did I want to do? Well I only had two real goals. Survive, and acquire waifus. For the first, there was the gamer system. For the latter, well, I had a veritable bounty to choose from. So getting rid of any obstacles in the way of that should be a priority. But first things first.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything that provides me an identity as a Kuoh student?” I ask. Having a paper trail and a reason to be in Kuoh would help me survive and get closer to the main cast.</p><p> </p><p>“Yup. There’s a handful. Everything from a second year transfer student with a small apartment, to a bigshot with a mansion.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lemme guess, the mansion one is hella expensive.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah. But it’s got some really nice features. A gym, spa, personal theater, sex dungeon, the works.”</p><p> </p><p>That all does sound nice. But unfortunately, I have to turn it down. Too many important things to get that I suspected would cost me a lot.</p><p> </p><p>“Just the apartment. I’ll change that to the mansion if I end up with enough points after the important stuff. Next, I need to remove some competition. How many options are there for getting rid of Issei or Saji?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, brutal. That’s hot,” she smirks. “Let’s see. I can make it so they never existed. Or just make them mundane and irrelevant. Both are pretty expensive though. You could only get rid of one of them, though it would leave you with enough to upgrade to the mansion.”</p><p> </p><p>Hmm. That’s less than ideal. Saji and Issei are the male centers of Sona and Rias’s peerages. Getting rid of them would leave them ripe for the taking.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh wait, here’s an option,” Kyu interrupts my thinking. “Since this place is an ecchi anime world, there’s a big discount on gender bending. I can genderbend both of them and still leave you with points enough for another decent change.”</p><p> </p><p>Huh. Rather than get rid of them, turn them into eligible targets for me, and no longer obstacles. It was efficient. “I like it. Do that. Great idea Kyu.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s what I do,” she says with a smug grin. “What else do  you want? You can’t get the mansion anymore, but you could get a nice suburban house with a secret configurable basement.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a nagging feeling in the back of my head. Something Kyu had said earlier. ‘Ecchi anime world’. That gave me mixed feelings.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything to make the world more lewd?” I ask. “I mean. Highschool DxD is already pretty lewd. But it pretty much never goes past seeing some tits and maybe some light groping. All tease and no satisfaction. And that’s not gonna be enough for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, I like the way you think,” Kyu says with a grin. “Yep! I’ve got the perfect one. Upgrade the world from an ecchi anime world to a hentai anime world. Doesn’t seem like it’ll devolve into just all sex at the drop of the hat, but that’d be too easy anyways. Nah, this just puts sex on the table, and makes everyone just a bit more open to casual sex stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“And I can afford it?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve got exactly enough to cover it.”<br/><br/>“Do it. If I’m going to risk my life then I may as well get laid doing it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hell yes. Best. Client. Ever.”</p><p> </p><p>A new window appears.</p><p> </p><p><b>World customization complete.<br/></b> <b>Initiate travel? Y/N</b></p><p> </p><p>“Well. If that’s it then,” I say. “Let’s get this show on the road.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wooooo!” Kyu shouts. There’s a burst of sensation, and then I immediately lose consciousness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. DxD: Tutorial 01</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I wake up slowly to the feeling of sunlight on my face. Blinking in the harsh light, I groan and slowly sit up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed, which is when I notice something wrong. Everything seems just a bit off. The sheets are unfamiliar, I’m sure my bed is closer to the ground than this, and my limbs feel weird.</p><p> </p><p>I wake up all the way with a jolt and look around. The room is unfamiliar. I look down at myself. I’m only wearing a pair of underwear that I don’t recognize, and my body is also not the one I’m used to looking down at.</p><p> </p><p>Then I remember. The Void, Kyu, making a new body. And with that memory, I get new ones as well. I remember being raised in America, but moving to Japan when I was young when my parents got jobs here. Then, when their jobs required them to move back to America, I begged to stay in Japan. Japan’s education was a lot more stressful than America’s, but it was a lot better, and I didn’t want to go back to the states before finishing my education. They relented, and I ended up transferring from a Tokyo school to Kuoh, which was a very good school but had much more affordable housing that my parents could set me up in.</p><p> </p><p>A clean and tidy story to essentially give me free reign. Nice. I idly wonder if my so-called ‘parents’ actually exist before dismissing it as unimportant. I’m sure that a paper trail for them exists at least, but beyond that they don’t really matter.</p><p> </p><p>Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I get up and head to where my new memories were telling me the bathroom was. I strip out of my underwear and get into the shower. It’s only after the hot water wakes me up that I realize something else is strange about my body. Finishing up quickly, I storm back to my bedroom, not bothering to put any clothes back on.</p><p> </p><p>“Kyu, where the fuck are you. You’ve got some explaining to do.” I looked around for the Love Fairy, but didn’t see her anywhere. “Kyu?”</p><p> </p><p>There. Movement under my covers. But far too small to be Kyu. Unless… I throw back the covers, and the tiny six inch tall form of Kyu flinches at the sudden change.</p><p> </p><p>“Noooo, five more minutes,” she grumbles.</p><p> </p><p>What. No. What? Kyu is distinctly human in size. A bit on the short side if my memory is right, but definitely more than this miniscule form.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I start calling you a Love Pixie instead of a Love Fairy?” I ask. </p><p> </p><p>She grumbles, waking up slowly. “You better fucking not. This is your fault. The setup took way more energy than it should have, so I had to shrink to my small size. I’ll be back to my normal size once you level up some.”</p><p> </p><p>That was interesting. I didn’t even think Love Fairies could change in size like that. No wait, that’s not what was important right now.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got another question for you Kyu. What the fuck did you do to my dick?” I gesture down to my crotch, where my flacid dick hung, emphasis on <em> hung </em>. It’s at least several inches bigger than I set it during character creation, and girthier as well. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh that?” she casually answers, eyeing it with a weird mix of pride and lust. “You were gonna go with a boring only slightly bigger than average dick, and I couldn’t allow that. No way, if you’re gonna fuck some girls, you’re going to give them a good time.”</p><p> </p><p>My eyebrow twitches as I hold back my frustration. “I was giving it room to grow. Who knows what fucking upgrades I’ll get and magic I’m gonna learn. I wanted to start at normal and work my way up to big, not start at horse sized and then grow to be too big to fit into anything without hurting the girl.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, you worry too much,” she dismisses. “Bigger is better, and girls stretch. As long as you treat them right it’ll be fine. Trust me. You’ll thank me for this later.”</p><p> </p><p>I sigh in defeat. Whatever. As far as problems go, my penis being bigger than I thought it would be is pretty ignorable. I throw on some casual clothes, jeans and a zip up hoodie. The calendar shows that today is Sunday, and my fake memories tell me tomorrow is my first day at Kuoh Academy. Which left all of today free. I could walk around town, get used to things, maybe see if I could trigger an event or something. </p><p> </p><p>Or I could check out this Dungeon that one of my skills mentioned. An instinctual mental command brings up the skill in question.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Dungeon Traversal](Active) - EX<br/>
</b>
  <b>Allows for entrance and exit into a Dungeon, as well as teleportation between safe rooms</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Kyu, what exactly are Dungeons?”</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck do you mean what are Dungeons? They’re dungeons. You go in, they’re filled with bad guys, you kill bad guys, and you get loot and XP. Sometimes there are puzzles, and there are bosses and safe rooms and stuff. You have played a game before right?” She was definitely awake now.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I have played a game before,” I answer patiently. “In fact, I’ve played a lot of them. Enough to know that the specifics of a dungeon can be extremely different from game to game. Is this going to be a grid thing with secret doors and traps, or a tower I have to climb, or just an arena with endless waves of enemies?”</p><p> </p><p>“You could always go check it out and see,” she says. I shoot her a glare, to which she responds by rolling her eyes. “Ugh, fine. It’s like the grid thing, but not a grid because those suck. It’s a maze filled with enemies. Honestly a lot of the details depend on the theme of the dungeon. Some have traps, some don’t. But they all have safe rooms, treasure rooms, secret paths, and at least one boss room at the end. Some of the tougher dungeons also have mid-bosses.”</p><p> </p><p>Okay, so she has a point. That’s just about as stereotypical as a dungeon can get. Not that I’d let her know I thought she was right. It also sounds like my best option for leveling up, something I desperately want to get a start on. I want to be at least a little above baseline human before my first day at Kuoh, if only to make a good impression on the devils there.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, do I even have a weapon?” I ask out loud. I wasn’t keen on the idea of entering a dungeon without one, and I didn’t have a lot of funds to buy something from a hardware store or the like. </p><p> </p><p>“Ugh. I thought you said you played games. Check your inventory, you should have a starter weapon.”</p><p> </p><p>Inventory? Oh right, that was a thing. Another mental command brings it up, and sure enough there are two items. A smartphone and a knife. I mentally select the knife and a description appears.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Iron Dagger<br/>
</b>
  <b>A simple iron dagger. It cuts things, but that's pretty much all that can be said about it. Damage = DEX, x3 Critical</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Well. That should be enough to get me started at least. Hopefully something better will drop as loot. Another mental command equips it and I feel the sheath of it settle on my hip. Looking at the phone, I pull up its description.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>HuniePhone<br/>
</b>
  <b>Kyu's personal brand of smartphone. Works in all realities with unlimited battery, phone, text, and data. Also has a few special features.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Well that is...convenient? Sure, let’s go with that. Leaving it alone for now, I close my inventory and use [Dungeon Traversal]. Instead of being teleported immediately, a window appears in my vision.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Please select a dungeon<br/>
</b>
  <b>0: Zombie Dungeon<br/>
</b>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Do I have to unlock more dungeons?” I ask.</p><p> </p><p>“Yep,” Kyu replies, popping the p. “The zombie dungeon is basically the tutorial dungeon. Once you complete that you should get a few more options.”</p><p> </p><p>That makes sense to me. Zombies are easy pickings. Selecting the dungeon I feel a slight pull in my gut and my surroundings change from my bedroom to decaying stone walls. Pulling out my knife I look around. The room I’m in is small, maybe six feet on each side. Two torches are lit on opposite walls, providing a flickering source of light. In front of me is a rotten wooden door.</p><p> </p><p>“Relax, this a safe room,” Kyu says. I jump, not expecting her to have come with me. She giggles at my reaction. “You’ll always enter the dungeon here. Then you can teleport to other safe rooms you’ve found using the skill.”</p><p> </p><p>I nod and take a moment to calm my nerves. This was it. This was the first dangerous step in my path to strength. The first moment my life would be at risk. Slowly I open the door. The next room is just as simple, but much larger, maybe 20 feet on each side. There are two exits on opposite walls, and a desiccated corpse was leaning on the far wall, not moving.</p><p> </p><p>I fully enter the room and check to make sure there isn’t anything else. There’s no furniture or anything else that can hide an enemy. It’s just a big empty room. Boring, but comforting. I feel safe knowing that it was just the one zombie. Assuming the corpse on the wall was alive anyways. Or unalive. Whatever.</p><p> </p><p>Activating [Sneak] I take a moment to watch my stamina bar. It ticked down, but slower than the one per second than I expected. Doing some quick mental math, I realized that I regenerated stamina even while using a skill. That was downright busted, especially since how much I regenerated per second was a percentage. I can keep [Sneak] active for more than six and a half minutes, and it will only take me a hundred seconds to get all my stamina back.</p><p> </p><p>I bring my attention back to the zombie in front of me. I approach under the cover of [Sneak] with my knife gripped firmly in my hand. As I get closer, I notice more and more details about the corpse leaning on the wall. It’s moving. Not much, but it shifts its weight a little bit every now and then. But what stands out more is that I recognized it. It isn’t just desiccated, it’s also extremely veiny, and looks exactly like a Hollow from Dark Souls. In fact, looking around the room now, this entire place looks like it took assets from the Undead Asylum. </p><p> </p><p>I resist the urge to snort. Sure, a tutorial dungeon filled with zombies. Only it’s Dark Souls themed. Not exactly the sort of game I want to risk my life on. Then again, it’s the mechanics that makes Dark Souls a challenge, not the enemies, and I have the most broken system to exist.</p><p> </p><p>Remembering one of the skills I have, I use [Observe] on it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Hollow<br/>
</b>
  <b>Level: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>HP: 60<br/>
</b>
  <b>MP: 30<br/>
</b>
  <b>SP: 80<br/>
</b>
  <b>CON: 6<br/>
</b>
  <b>STR: 8<br/>
</b>
  <b>DEX: 5<br/>
</b>
  <b>INT: 3<br/>
</b>
  <b>WIS: 2<br/>
</b>
  <b>CHA: 2<br/>
</b>
  <b>LUK: 1</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Despite being the same level as me, its stats are a lot lower. Not really a surprise, considering what it is. Knowing it’s HP is nice, but a little intimidating. My iron dagger only does my DEX in damage, which isn’t very much right now. But if I can get a sneak attack or a backstab or something like that, it might be higher.</p><p> </p><p>I step into melee range of the Hollow and tense, ready to strike if it reacts. But it doesn’t. Picking my spot, I muster my courage and shove the blade of my dagger into the back of its neck.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Sneak attack! Critical Hit!<br/>
</b>
  <b>65 damage dealt</b>
</p><p> </p><p>With a low gasp, the Hollow collapses before fading away into ash. Huh. One shot kill. Nice.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Hollow slain, 5xp</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Sneak] is now level 2</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Drops: 1x Bone, 1x Rotweed</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Nice, [Sneak] leveled up quickly. I bring up the skill description, but nothing has changed. Of course, the only numbers in it are the skill level and the cost, so it’s likely it did increase in effectiveness, it just doesn’t give me the numbers. At least the cost didn’t increase.</p><p> </p><p>Pulling up my inventory, I check out drops.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(1) Bone<br/>
</b>
  <b>Human bone. Used for crafting.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(1) Rotweed<br/>
</b>
  <b>A diseased looking plant that is somehow still alive. Used for crafting.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Huh. Well those might be useful later. Or they won’t be and they’ll just take up room in my inventory.</p><p> </p><p>I drop [Sneak] to allow my SP to regenerate to full. It hadn’t dipped down very low, but there’s no reason to keep it active. I look at the two doors leading out of the room. Both are identical and head in opposite directions, though for all I know they ended up in the same place anyways.</p><p> </p><p>I sigh. “I hate dungeon crawling.” It was just such a slog.</p><p> </p><p>“Suck it up buttercup,” is Kyu’s unempathetic reply. “You’re the one that wanted to grind out some levels instead of hitting up the town and finding some ladies to grind up on instead. So either get to it, or let's head back.”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. “No, we’ll make some progress here. I’m just complaining.” Flipping a mental coin, I decide to take the left door, and I head deeper into the dungeon.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Six hours later I flop down onto my bed, mentally tired. I still haven’t gotten hungry or physically tired. Kyu told me that [Gamer’s Body] got rid of the need for those sorts of things, but mentally it was still tiring to be on constant alert. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about keeping track of things. Kyu informed me that one of the functions of the HuniePhone is that it automatically maps the dungeon as I explore.</p><p> </p><p>So while it had been a bit of a slog, I got some decent results for my time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Axton<br/>
</b>
  <b>Level: 8<br/>
</b>
  <b>Class: Rogue(8/100)[36%]<br/>
</b>
  <b>HP: 160 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>MP: 250 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>SP: 150 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>CON: 16<br/>
</b>
  <b>STR: 15<br/>
</b>
  <b>DEX: 34<br/>
</b>
  <b>INT: 25<br/>
</b>
  <b>WIS: 19<br/>
</b>
  <b>CHA: 17<br/>
</b>
  <b>LUK: 25</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Sneak](Active) - Level 10(28%)<br/>
</b>
  <b>Reduces visibility and sound created by movement, allowing for stealthy traversal. 2SP/s.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Lockpick](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>
</b>
  <b>Attempt to pick a lock, as long as the appropriate tools are used.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The cost for [Sneak] had gone up by one at level ten. Thankfully, every level I gained at least one in every stat, except for DEX where I got three, and INT and LUK where I got 2. The increase to my Stamina meant I could still keep [Sneak] up for a pretty long time. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately I don’t have any lockpicking tools, nor did any drop. However, I did get a bunch of crafting materials, including some scrap cloth and scrap iron that dropped from some lightly armored Hollows I encountered a bit deeper in the dungeon. One of them even dropped another iron dagger, and one dropped a piece of armor.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Rotting Leather Cuirass<br/>
</b>
  <b>A piece of light chest armor. It looks like it's close to falling apart, but it does offer a bit of protection.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It smelt a bit off, but I had immediately equipped it over my hoodie anyways. It almost immediately paid off too, because shortly after that I took damage for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>After killing some of the basic Hollows, I started finding tougher ones. They were just a little more aware, had some light armor, and had just enough health that I couldn’t one shot them with a sneak attack. Getting that first sneak attack was easy, but then I’d have to fight and get 1-2 more hits in before they died.</p><p> </p><p>One of them got lucky. Or I got cocky. Eh, probably a mix of both. Immediately after I stabbed one of the armored hollows it swung it’s sword in my direction, slashing my chest. It hurt, though not as much as it should have, and I lost nearly a quarter of my HP. And then I nearly lost more as I panicked and tried to rush them.</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully it was the last enemy in the room so I wasn’t in danger of getting swarmed. But it was a pretty scary moment.</p><p> </p><p>I was more cautious after that, which slowed me down some, but in the end I found a safe room containing a treasure chest, thankfully unlocked, and decided to call it a day after grabbing the loot. Speaking of the loot.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Onyx Dog Figurine<br/>
</b>
  <b>Once a day this figurine can turn into a large dog-like automaton that can be ridden. Lasts for 1 hour.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I guess this is my first magic item? Not a bad one if I do say so myself. I already tried it out before I left the dungeon. The dog it creates is large, but not impossibly big. But on the downside, it very clearly isn’t a dog. It looks like a dog, but it doesn’t act like one. It follows simple commands pretty well, but has no intelligence. </p><p> </p><p>I look over at the clock. It's early afternoon now. I could go back in the dungeon...but fuck that. I need a break, I’ll do some more grinding tonight instead of sleeping. I can go out and do some shopping. Another thing the enemies dropped was money, and in addition to what I found stashed away in the apartment, I now had a bit over 32k yen to spend. A quick online search shows that yes, the exchange rate is about the same as it was back home before I left, so that was roughly equal to $320 USD. I don’t have to worry about bills, so that should be enough for a few tools and items. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright Kyu, we’re going into town to do some shopping,” I push myself up off the bed, throw on a light jacket, and pull my phone out of my inventory to start making a list. I didn’t <em> need </em> to eat, but I should grab some food stuff for when I wanted to. Or if I had someone over. I also need to find where I could buy a set of lockpicking tools. </p><p> </p><p>I search through my fake memories for good places to shop. There is a plaza in the center of town not too far away that has a lot of different stores. I can start there.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Kyu, I don’t suppose you know where I can get a set of lockpicking tools?”  She’s flying alongside me, invisible to others.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, not a store. They’re illegal here dumbass.”</p><p> </p><p>I blink. “Really? Huh. They’re legal in the states.” Hmm. That really put a damper on that. I guess I can try to make my own, that should work well enough in the short term.</p><p> </p><p>“You know,” Kyu interrupts my planning. “Lockpicks are Rogue tools, you can probably get them from the Hunie Store.”</p><p> </p><p>I stop. “The what?” Before she can reply I shake my head. “No wait, I can guess.” I poke around on my phone and find it before long. What I assumed was a simple app store was actually a special store where I can spend Hunie on different items. Scrolling through I see some basic armor, weapons, tools, potions, and more. Everything a Gamer needs to stock up on. There’s just one problem. </p><p> </p><p>“I already spent all my Hunie though,” I complain. “How do I get more?”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you’d never ask!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>New Quest!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Picking up Girls: The Basics<br/>
</b>
  <b>Talk to a girl and get her number before midnight.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Rewards: 1000 Hunie, 500xp, ???, ???</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Ah, I was wondering where the quests were. Those rewards are very nice for something so easy. My body may have reverted to a teenager, but my mind is certainly no blushing virgin. Getting a phone number? With my looks and my CHA score? Easy. My CHA isn’t godly high, but it is several points higher than the average of the people I observed on my way to the plaza. </p><p> </p><p>Shopping can wait then. The new plan is to walk around the plaza and the nearby park looking for a good opportunity.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for the quest Kyu, I’ll have this done quickly,” I say, a confident grin on my face.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, talking big huh?” She giggles. “Well let’s see if you can actually do it or are just all talk. In fact, how about this?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Quest updated!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Picking up Girls: The Basics<br/>
</b>
  <b>Talk to a girl and get her number before midnight.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Get her number before the sun sets.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Get the number of the first girl you talk to.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Rewards: 1000 Hunie, 500xp, ???, ???<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Reward: 1000 Hunie, 500xp, ???, ???<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Reward: 1500 Hunie, 750xp, ???, ???, ???</b>
</p><p> </p><p>A time limit and an attempt limit huh? Kyu certainly knows how to pump up the challenge. “Alright, sure. Let’s do this.” I look up at the sun. I have a few hours of sunlight left. A few hours to get the number of a girl is pretty doable, especially since girls my apparent age likely won’t be out and about on a school night after the sun sets anyways, so the time limit isn’t much of an added factor.</p><p> </p><p>So I begin my search. I take a relaxed approach to it. I have several hours to find a girl and get her number. Really, it’s not a big deal. But I want to get it on the first try for that bonus reward.</p><p> </p><p>An hour later though, with maybe just a couple hours left before the sun sets, I’m a bit more nervous. My pickiness has caused me to pass up a lot of opportunities. </p><p> </p><p>It’s as I’m walking through the park that I see a beautiful white haired girl wearing a Kuoh Academy uniform. She’s just a little off to the side of the path, and she’s crouching in front of a box and reaching into it. Like I had with so many other people today, I use [Observe] on her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Momo Hanakai<br/>
</b>
  <b>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/>
</b>
  <b>Level: 69<br/>
</b>
  <b>HP: 2340<br/>
</b>
  <b>MP: 3600<br/>
</b>
  <b>SP: 2010<br/>
</b>
  <b>CON: 78<br/>
</b>
  <b>STR: 67<br/>
</b>
  <b>DEX: 68<br/>
</b>
  <b>INT: 120<br/>
</b>
  <b>WIS: 117<br/>
</b>
  <b>CHA: 70<br/>
</b>
  <b>LUK: 38</b>
</p><p> </p><p>A reincarnated devil? Ah, she must be one of Sona’s peerage members. They didn’t get a lot of screen time so I don’t recognize her. But what was with her health, mana, and stamina? They are a lot higher than her stats indicate. Maybe it’s her race? Something to ask Kyu about later.</p><p> </p><p>If a member of the cast is here, even if it’s a minor member, then I’ll take that as a sign and take the chance on her. Plus, I have a pretty good idea about what’s in the box.</p><p> </p><p>Making sure I make noise and don’t come from directly behind her, I walk up to her to look into the box. Sure enough, in the box is a mewling grey kitten.</p><p> </p><p>Momo looks up at me, one hand in the box and petting the kitten, who doesn’t seem to notice and keeps softly crying out. I smile and dip my head in greeting before squatting next to the box as well.</p><p> </p><p>“This little guy got abandoned then?” I ask. </p><p> </p><p>Momo gives me a look I can’t decipher before responding. “It would seem so. I’ve been trying to comfort her, but I think the poor thing is hungry.”</p><p> </p><p>“I might be able to help with that,” I say as I reach into my jacket pocket. I bought some chicken skewers while walking around earlier and had put them in my inventory. A little sleight of hand to make them appear as I put my hand in my pocket, and I pull a bag wrapped around the food out of my pocket. “How old would you guess she is?”</p><p> </p><p>She’s looking at me weird. I suppose I did just pull food out of my pocket, but it was better than pulling it out of thin air. “Maybe a couple months old? She’s small but she doesn’t look like a newborn.”</p><p> </p><p>I nod. “Should be good enough then.” I take a chunk off of one of the skewers, I then take another, smaller chunk from the larger one, squish it between my fingers, and put it in front of the cat's mouth. I’m pretty sure kittens can eat solid food at around that two months, and that chicken is good for cats. I’m less sure about the sauce cooked into the chicken, but it’ll probably be fine in the short term.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Kitten</b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I blink. Affection? Well Affection is obviously some sort of measurement of how much someone likes me. A useful measuring tool for picking up girls. But why does something like that apply to a cat as well? Just in case, I [Observe] the kitten.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Kitten<br/>
</b>
  <b>Race: Feline<br/>
</b>
  <b>Level: 0<br/>
</b>
  <b>HP: 10<br/>
</b>
  <b>MP: 10<br/>
</b>
  <b>SP: 10<br/>
</b>
  <b>CON: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>STR: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>DEX: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>INT: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>WIS: 1<br/>
</b>
  <b>CHA: 3<br/>
</b>
  <b>LUK: 9</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I didn’t even know level 0 was a thing. But I guess a literal kitten being level 0 makes sense. I feed her more chicken, and get another five affection for it.</p><p> </p><p>“This should tide the little lady over until I can get some more appropriate food for her.” I shoot Momo a look. “Unless you were going to take her?”</p><p> </p><p>She shakes her head. “Unfortunately I don’t really have the time to take proper care of a kitten right now. School work keeps me busy.” She looks at me questioningly. “Are you saying you’ll take care of her then?”</p><p> </p><p>I shrug, trying to look casual. “Sure, in the short term at least. My apartment allows cats and I can’t just leave her here. I’m a student as well but I’ve got a friend who can look after her while I’m at school.” I quickly glance at Kyu, who’s hovering hidden from sight behind Momo, and I’m glad to see she’s on the same page because she gives me a thumbs up. Truly, she’s the best wingwoman a guy could ask for.</p><p> </p><p>I feed the cat more chicken. I’m still not sure if the sauce is good for cats, but she seems to like it, as she keeps licking it clean off my fingers with each bite I feed her. Plus, I get five more Affection. Cats are easy I guess, you just gotta feed them. She isn’t mewling anymore, and seems to be content. </p><p> </p><p>I look at Momo. “I don’t suppose you know where the nearest vet is? I should get her checked up on and get some supplies before taking her home.” Please offer to bring me there please offer to bring me there-</p><p> </p><p>She smiles warmly. “There’s one about a ten minute walk from here. I’ll go with you, I want to make sure she’s okay too.”</p><p> </p><p>I smile back at her. “Sure, the more the merrier.” I carefully grab hold of the box and gently lift it up, making sure not to jostle it too much. Despite my efforts, the kitten makes a little squeak of protest. I have to admit, this kitten is extremely cute. I was pretty okay committing myself to taking care of her for at least a couple weeks, if not longer.</p><p> </p><p>Me and Momo leave the park together, and I decide to strike up some conversation. “You’re a Kuoh Academy student, right?” She nods. “Well lucky me. I transfer in tomorrow, and it’s comforting to know there will be at least one friendly face there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh? You’re Axton Smith then?” she asks, surprise coloring her tone.</p><p> </p><p>I blink. Wait, Smith? Really? That was my last name? I shoot Kyu a look and she just shrugs. “Uhh. Yeah. How’d you know? People aren’t talking about me already are they?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no, not at all. I’m sorry.” She tilts her head lightly. “I never introduced myself. I’m Hanakai Momo, and I’m part of the student council. I remembered seeing your paperwork the other day. We don’t get many transfers this time of year, so you stuck out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, that makes sense. Well, it’s nice to meet you Hanakai. But please, call me Axton. I’ve never liked being called by my family name.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re American right? I’ve heard a lot of Americans are like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep. I’ve been here in Japan most of my life,” or at least I have according to my fake history, “but the one thing I never got used to was being called by my last name.” Especially when it was something as plain and boring as Smith.</p><p> </p><p>“I see. In that case, please call me Momo.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing Momo, thanks for accommodating me.” I flash her another smile. I swear I see a hint of a blush, but I’m not sure and I can’t look too closely without staring.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>We arrive at the vet clinic a few minutes later, talking about Kuoh Academy and what I should expect from it. She asks me why I’m transferring at this time of year and I recite my backstory. I look at the time and guess that I have about an hour and a half before sunset. That should be plenty of time for what I have planned. I haven’t forgotten that I still need Momo’s phone number for the quest. I have a route to getting it envisioned in my head, but it would have to wait until right before we split up. </p><p> </p><p>Talking to the vet, we explain where we found the kitten. I get a light scolding for feeding my chicken to the cat, but since it was only a little bit she said it would be fine so long as I only give her approved cat food for the next week or so. They take the kitten into the back while me and Momo sit in the waiting area and keep talking.</p><p> </p><p>Our talk is pretty mundane and mostly focused on Kuoh and the Student Council. It turns out that, unlike most other student councils, the Kuoh Student Council didn’t really have any named positions other than the President and Vice-President. Each member has their own specialties and roles, but they aren’t really divided up in the traditional manner. Sona prefers keeping things a bit more flexible it seems.</p><p> </p><p>Half an hour later the vet comes back out with the kitten and a list of instructions for taking care of her. Thankfully, the kitten is in good health, just a little hungry. I’m given a list of things I need to buy and directed to a nearby pet store.</p><p> </p><p>Momo, who is holding the now sleepy kitten on her chest, asks to come with me to the store. It’s obvious she doesn’t want to say goodbye to the kitten yet. I’m not an idiot, so I gladly accept her company. Momo keeps the kitten held on her chest as we walk, which I’m glad of, because it gives me a pretty good excuse to look at her boobs. They’re decently big. Not that big for this setting where the average tit size seems to be ‘watermelon’, but she’s pretty stacked by my past world’s standards.</p><p> </p><p>It’s as we’re at the pet store and looking at collars that I realize something important.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, she needs a name, doesn’t she?” I say out loud. Momo’s eyes widen in realization. “You found her first, so why don’t you name her?”</p><p> </p><p>Her brow furrows in thought. “Hmm. I’m not sure. You’ll be keeping her, shouldn’t you name her?”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. “Nah, if I name her she’ll end up with some lame name or something. She deserves a prettier name than anything I could come up with.” That, and for my plan to work, she needs to be attached to the kitten as much as possible.</p><p> </p><p>She mulls it over a bit. “How about...Yua?” As if reacting to the name, the kitten chooses this point to meow softly in her sleep.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Yua</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I smile. “Seems like she approves of it, and I agree. It’s a very pretty name.” Momo is definitely blushing now, but just nods and doesn’t say anything.</p><p> </p><p>We make our way through the store and get everything on the list. At checkout, Momo insists on paying for the supplies, though I manage to talk her down to half. I would have argued more...but it turns out buying a ton of stuff for a new cat is expensive, and I was just short of being able to get it all. Oops. Still, I’m not too worried about the money, I can make it back easily enough, and it’ll be worth it just for the quest completion alone.</p><p> </p><p>As we step out of the pet store I see the sun is approaching the horizon. It’s now or never. Yua is sitting comfortably in her new carrier which is in one of my hands, and I’m carrying all of the supplies in my other. It’s heavy enough that if I hadn’t leveled up this morning, I think I’d actually be struggling a bit. As it is, it’s noticeable, but not strenuous.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, this is where we part ways I guess.” I say. I raise the carrier up higher. “Say bye bye to Momo Yua, we have to go home now.” Yua meows again. I’m starting to wonder if maybe she does recognize her name. Either that or she just has extremely good timing. </p><p> </p><p>Momo pokes a finger into the cage. “Bye Yua, I’ll miss you.”</p><p> </p><p>That’s it, there’s my chance. “Here’s an idea,” I say, somehow managing to make it seem like the past two hours hadn’t been leading up to this. “If we swap contact information, I can send you pictures of her and updates on how she’s doing.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiles. Is it just me, or is the smile a bit flirty? It’s hard to tell. “Oh I would appreciate that so much. Thank you Axton.”</p><p> </p><p>I place down the carrier long enough to pull out my phone, and we swap numbers. </p><p> </p><p>“Perfect,” I say as I put my phone away and pick Yua back up. “I’ll make sure to take plenty of photos and send you the good ones.”</p><p> </p><p>“What if they’re all good ones though?” she asks with a teasing smile. Oh yeah, she’s definitely flirting now.</p><p> </p><p>“Well then I guess you’ll get a lot of photos then,” I flirt right back at her. “Unless you don’t want that for some reason?”</p><p> </p><p>She shakes her head. “Oh no, I’d never turn down photos of cute little Yua. In fact.” She crouches down in front of the carrier and lifts her phone. The short skirt she’s wearing rides up and bares a lot of her thighs, though from this angle I can’t see anything other than her legs. I hear the sound of a shutter and realize that while I was distracted staring at her thighs she snapped a photo of Yua.</p><p> </p><p>She stood up and straightened her skirt out before hitting me with a flirtatious smile. “Looks like I got the first picture of her.”</p><p> </p><p>“You cheater,” I reply in a lighthearted tone. “My hands are full, that’s not fair.” She just laughs. “Oh well, I’ll beat you in quality and quantity.”</p><p> </p><p>“I look forward to it,” she says as if she’s won. She’s the one that’s going to get a bunch of cute kitten photos, so I guess in a way she has. </p><p> </p><p>“I live over that way,” I say, indicating the direction with my head. “I need to get Yua settled in, so I should head home now. But it was a lot of fun hanging out with you Momo.”</p><p> </p><p>“I had a lot of fun today too Axton. I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”</p><p> </p><p>I nod. “Yep. I have to meet with the Student Council President in the morning. If I don’t see you then I’ll say hi after school before I go home.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiles. “I’ll see  you then in that case. Have a nice night Axton. And bye Yua, be good!” Momo waves as she heads in a different direction. I wait until she’s around the corner before starting to head home.</p><p> </p><p>Kyu, who had been flying around staying in the background for most of that time, flies up close to me and lets out a low whistle. “Damn player. You did way better than I expected, and I was totally expecting you to at least get one of the bonus objectives.”</p><p> </p><p>I shrugged nonchalantly, but I can feel the grin on my face. “I had a bit of help. This little lady here was the second best wingwoman a guy could ask for. You know, next to a Love Fairy such as yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“And don’t you forget it,” Kyu says triumphantly. “Speaking of though, you do realize you’re basically permanently attached to this cat now, right? Even if you find someone who wants to adopt her, you lose your in with Momo.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s worth it,” I reply confidently. “I mean. She is a pretty cute kitten. And it’s the perfect reason to send her pictures, which is definitely a door I want to open.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, good thinking. So hey, real talk. How much of that was planned, and how much was luck?”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh. A little bit of column A, a little bit of column B. The plan to adopt the cat and get her invested enough to give me a pretty good excuse to get her number I made as soon as she said she wasn’t able to take care of Yua herself. But I got pretty lucky that she stuck around more than I expected and got more attached than I thought she would.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm, I see. Well champ, you did pretty good. Here, quest completed, here’s what you earned.” She makes a motion with her hand and several windows appear in my vision.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+45 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Quest Completed!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Picking up Girls: The Basics<br/>
</b>
  <b>Talk to a girl and get her number before midnight.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Get her number before the sun sets.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Get the number of the first girl you talk to.<br/>
</b>
  <b>Rewards: 1000 Hunie, 500xp, +10 Affection with Kyu, [Smooth Talker] Perk<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Reward: 1000 Hunie, 500xp, +20 Affection with Kyu, [Silver Tongue] Perk<br/>
</b>
  <b>Bonus Reward: 1500 Hunie, 750xp, +20 Affection with Kyu, [Cunning Linguist] Perk, Gacha Token</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Kyu Affection is now 50</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Perk Unlocked<br/>
</b>
  <b>[Fae Kissed] - Increases affection/reputation gain of Fae by 20%</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Cunning Linguist] - Your tongue is an instrument and you know just how to use it. People are far more likely to believe you and girls just love the sound of your voice. You also become skilled at using your tongue in all sorts of other ways.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Rogue class is now Level 13</b>
</p><p>
  <b>New Rogue Skill</b>
</p><p>
  <b></b>
  <b>[Sleight of Hand](Passive) - Level 1(0%)<br/>
</b>
  <b>Increases the users ability to perform sleight of hand techniques and dexterous movement </b>
</p><p> </p><p>A lot just unlocked. That one quest got me more than three times the XP than my time in the dungeon did. The Hunie I’d be able to make great use of to get some extremely useful things for the Dungeon. The Kyu affection is extremely nice, and only a little surprising. She had been romanceable in the game, so I wasn’t too surprised she’s considered eligible by the Game.  The perks are extremely nice too. I don’t see the other two, but I assume that [Cunning Linguist] is a straight upgrade that just replaced [Smooth Talker] and [Silver Tongue]. The new Rogue skill is alright, I’m sure it’ll be useful, but it’s a little underwhelming.</p><p> </p><p>But the Gacha token is a total unknown. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey Kyu, what’s up with the Gacha token?” I ask. I’m at my apartment now and I set down the carrier to open the front door.</p><p> </p><p>“All that and that’s the first thing you comment on?” Kyu teases. She explains as I let Yua out to start exploring the apartment and start setting up all her stuff. “The Gacha is actually pretty cool. You use a Gacha token, and you get a random item. But nearly all the items are extremely good. They usually pull stuff from other worlds, and that can be pretty busted if you get lucky.”</p><p> </p><p>I set up Yua’s bed in the corner of my bedroom and she immediately ran over to investigate it. “That sounds pretty dope. Let’s give it a try.” A mental command opens up my inventory. Below my money, now a mere 9800 yen, was a new entry saying “Gacha Tokens: 1” with a button that says “Spin” right next to it. Shrugging, I push the button.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>New Item</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Hornet Ring<br/>
</b>
  <b>When equipped, critical hits are more effective. Doubles the base Critical Hit Modifier</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Holy shit, that’s broken. Daggers, or at least my dagger, already had a base 3x multiplier for critical hits. Double that is 6x. And if it’s a sneak attack, that’s another 2x, for 8x damage. I pull up my stat screen, seeing how much it’s grown with the experience I got from the quests.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Axton<br/>
</b>
  <b>Level: 13<br/>
</b>
  <b>Class: Rogue(13/100)[26%]<br/>
</b>
  <b>HP: 210 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>MP: 350 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>SP: 200 (1% per second)<br/>
</b>
  <b>CON: 21<br/>
</b>
  <b>STR: 20<br/>
</b>
  <b>DEX: 49<br/>
</b>
  <b>INT: 35<br/>
</b>
  <b>WIS: 24<br/>
</b>
  <b>CHA: 22<br/>
</b>
  <b>LUK: 35</b>
</p><p> </p><p>So, under ideal circumstances, circumstances that are easy to create since I could now keep up [Sneak] indefinitely, at least until it got to Level 20, my Iron dagger can do nearly 400 damage in a single attack. Which is more than three times higher than the health of any of the Hollows I saw in the dungeon. Though compared to a reincarnated devil like Momo, that isn’t even half their HP. Hmm. I’m overpowered for the dungeon, but compared to even the lower levels of this world I still have some work to do. </p><p> </p><p>Then again...I open up the Hunie Store. The lockpick set is only 300 Hunie, so I put it in my cart without hesitation. But while I’m here, there are some things I saw earlier. I open the weapons section and find what I’m looking for.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Ka-Bar Combat Knife<br/>
</b>
  <b>The US Military’s combat knife of choice. Damage = DEX x 3, 3x Critical Hit Modifier<br/>
</b>
  <b>1200 Hunie</b>
</p><p> </p><p>That would be just under 1200 points of damage in a single attack. Still not enough to one shot a reincarnated devil, but it’s a hell of a lot closer. Fuck it, I’ve got the Hunie. I’ll probably end up getting a better knife later on, but this will be pretty good until then. </p><p> </p><p>I quickly browse through the armor, but even the basic light armor costs nearly as much as the knife, and honestly I don’t really need it. I only got attacked once, and with the combat knife, the likelihood of that happening again is extremely unlikely.</p><p> </p><p>Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. The Hunie Store has Moderate Health Potions that heal 50% damage for 500 Hunie a pop, and I go ahead and buy two. </p><p> </p><p>That leaves me with 1000 Hunie left, but I decide against buying anything else right now. I might need to buy something else in the future, and it’d be better to have some on hand.</p><p> </p><p>I go to my cart and hit the checkout button. Checkmarks appear next to the items and a message thanking me for my purchase appears. I open my inventory to equip my new knife...but there’s nothing there.</p><p> </p><p>“Kyu, how do I get my Hunie Store orders?” I look around for her and spot her leaning against Yua, who’s curled up sleeping. I quickly snap a picture. “Also if I send this picture to Momo will she see you in it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Store orders get delivered, they should be here in a moment. And no, she won’t, unless she’s seen me before.” Kyu answers sleepily.</p><p> </p><p>Delivered? Before I can ask what she means by that, the doorbell rings. I send the photo to Momo as I get up to go answer the door.</p><p> </p><p>The most generic mailman I’ve ever seen is there with a package in his hand. I use [Observe] on him, already used to doing it on every person I see.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>The Mailman<br/>
</b>
  <b>???<br/>
</b>
  <b>?̶͔͋̚͝?̸̪͎̈́̎?̷̥͖̩̒͐</b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A spike of pain shoots through my head.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, sorry about that mate. It’s usually not a good idea for new Gamers to take too close a peek.” The Mailman says in a light Australian accent. “I try to warn the new blood, but most of the time I’m too late.”</p><p> </p><p>“I-” My head is still recovering from whatever just happened. “Right. Noted. You have my stuff I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure do. Just need you to place your thumb on this slate.” He holds out what looks like a stone slate the size of a playing card. I look at it suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this going to hurt me too?”</p><p> </p><p>The Mailman grins. “Just a little bit. Just needs a tiny drop of blood.”</p><p> </p><p>I sigh and place my thumb on the slate. Sure enough, I feel a small spike of pain in my thumb. It’s honestly not that bad though. It feels a lot like that time I accidentally stapled my finger.</p><p> </p><p>“There we go. And here you go,” he says while handing me the package. “Thank you for your business. And welcome to the Game!”</p><p> </p><p>“Right, thanks.” I close the door and wander back to my bedroom. I go to ask Kyu what the fuck that just was, but she’s fast asleep. Whatever. It could wait. Opening the package I take out my knife, lockpicking set, and health potions. The potions and lockpicks go straight into my inventory, but I equip the new knife as well as a single iron dagger, just in case, and throw on my armor.</p><p> </p><p>Actually, now that I think about it, my daggers are a one handed weapon, and I have two hands. Could I attack with two knives at the same time? Something to try out in the dungeon. Speaking of the dungeon, I want to get more grinding in tonight. Though I’m having second thoughts about how worthwhile it is to grind in the dungeon. The quest experience had been way more than I had earned in the dungeon. But then again, it only gave me fives levels compared to the seven the dungeon had. Leveling is already slowing down pretty hard. My only hope was to push on and hope for tougher enemies that give more XP. And with my new knife, they should be just as easy to kill.</p><p> </p><p>A glance at the clock shows I have about ten hours before I have to be back here, getting ready for school. Probably not enough time to clear the dungeon, but with my new weapon speeding things up it should be enough time to get a lot done.</p><p> </p><p>Leaving Kyu to watch over Yua, I enter the dungeon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. DxD: Tutorial 02</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I learned several things about the dungeon.</p><p> </p><p>First, that it’s fucking huge. I cleared about four times the area I had in my first trip before I found the boss room. I was tempted to go in immediately, but I didn’t want to risk the fight taking forever and me being late, so instead I just cleared a few areas around it before calling it a day.</p><p> </p><p>Second, that yes, two knives do indeed result in two simultaneous sneak attacks. My Ka-Bar knife alone was enough for all the enemies I found, but it was good practice. </p><p> </p><p>Third, it wasn’t just Hollows in the Dungeon. I finally started running into more types of zombies, though they were just as dumb and easy to avoid. Except for the Left 4 Dead special zombies. The Hunters usually saw through my stealth and that led to some nasty fights. On the bright side, I no longer flinched or panicked when I got hurt. On the down side, I ruined a perfectly good pair of pants. Note to self, don’t wear clothes you care about into the dungeon, they just get torn up.</p><p> </p><p>Fourth, the XP the zombies gave did indeed ramp up, allowing me to get some really good leveling in. Having a powerful weapon and an accessory to boost damage really helped in my clearing speed too. In fact, I had rocketed up in levels. I had also gotten some okay loot, including a better knife, more crafting materials, and a pair of rotting leather boots.</p><p> </p><p>Fifth, I got cell reception in the dungeon. Shortly after I entered I got a text back from Momo, and we chatted for a bit. Texting with one hand while stabbing zombies in the back with a knife probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I only did it for an hour or so, and the hollows wouldn’t notice if I started pissing on them while sneaking.</p><p> </p><p>Traveling back to my bedroom, I check my updated status.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Axton</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Level: 24</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Class: Rogue(24/100)[40%]</b>
</p><p>
  <b>HP: 320 (1% per second)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>MP: 1140 (1% per second)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>SP: 310 (1% per second)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CON: 32</b>
</p><p>
  <b>STR: 31</b>
</p><p>
  <b>DEX: 82</b>
</p><p>
  <b>INT: 57</b>
</p><p>
  <b>WIS: 35</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CHA: 33</b>
</p><p>
  <b>LUK: 57</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Perk gained for reaching DEX 50</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Steady Hand] - Increases accuracy with ranged and precision weapons by 20%</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Perk gained for reaching INT 50</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Mana Pond] - Increases maximum mana</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Perk gained for reaching LUK 50</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Advantage] - You're twice as likely to have a lucky encounter.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Sneak](Active) - Level 26(41%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Reduces visibility and sound created by movement, allowing for stealthy traversal. 3SP/s.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Lock Picking](Active) - Level 10(0%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Attempt to pick a lock, as long as the appropriate tools are used.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Sleight of Hand](Passive) - Level 12(27%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Increases the users ability to perform sleight of hand techniques and dexterous movement </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Backstab](Passive) - Level 21(45%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Sneak attacks on an enemies back do extra damage. Replaces sneak attack multiplier with 6.2x damage</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Pickpocket](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Attempt to take an item from a person. Chance increases the less they are aware of you.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>At Rogue level 15 I unlocked the [Backstab] skill, which shot my damage up even further. It started at just 2x, but it had quickly grown as I leveled it up. At level 20 I unlocked the Pickpocket skill, but it didn’t seem to work against the zombies, so I didn’t get a chance to level it up any.</p><p> </p><p>But the best of all was the treasure chest in the safe room right before the boss room. Every safe room I found, which was three this trip, contained a treasure chest. But the one near the boss room was locked, meaning I finally got a chance to try out my lockpicking skill. It took a few minutes and a few tries, but I managed it. But the ten levels I got from that paled in comparison to the reward in the chest.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Gacha Tokens: 1</b>
</p><p> </p><p>If this went anything like it did last time, this would be a massive boon. Pushing the spin button, I eagerly await my reward.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Skill Gem obtained</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Erotic Pierrot]</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Erotic Pierrot? It doesn’t sound familiar. Though with ‘erotic’ in the name, I’m certain it’ll be something fun. I pull the gem from my inventory and crush it to learn the skill.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Skill obtained!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Erotic Pierrot](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Manipulate the lust of a target within eyesight. Cost 100MP/s</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I’m unable to stop myself from cackling in delight. What a wonderful skill! And what good timing. I was annoyed at first because my MP was growing the fastest despite me not having any skills that use MP, but then the RNG gods decide to drop quite possibly the best skill ever right into my hands.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a bit early in the morning for evil laughter don’t you think?” Kyu sleepily flew up to me, yawning. “What’s got you so pumped?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry,” I apologize, though I don’t think it sounds very sincere with the giddiness that’s still in my voice. “I just had a <em> very </em> productive night.” I check the time. Plenty of time for a shower before school, good. I start stripping and head for the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit, you sure did,” Kyu gasps while following me, presumably looking at my new stats. “Where’d you even get this skill? It’s amazing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Gacha,” I answer simply. “I found a token in a chest.” I finish stripping and turn on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s insanely lucky,” I finally look at her. She’s naked as well, her tiny form on display. I raise an eyebrow at her. “What? I need to shower too, and it’s a pain in the ass doing it by myself when I’m this small.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair enough,” I shrug. “I certainly don’t mind the company, or the eye candy.” I feel the water again. Nice and warm, but not too hot. Perfect. I step in and Kyu follows me, giggling.</p><p> </p><p>She hovers in front of my dick, staring at it. “Oh no, I’m certainly the one getting the eye candy here. I’ve never tried size play, but I think I’m gonna need to try, because holy shit your dick being bigger than my entire body is making me super horny.”</p><p> </p><p>She gets close to me, almost but not quite touching me. Combined with her naked form and aroused expression, it’s enough that she has to back off as my dick hardens and rises.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Kyu</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I shoot a look at Kyu, who’s definitely blushing. “Well that’s a new fetish discovered I guess,” she says. She shakes her head and composes herself. “But sorry, I’m not that easy,” she teases. </p><p> </p><p>I sigh in disappointment. “Of course not. You weren’t in the game either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” she asks, clearly interested. “Was I not a heroine in the game?”</p><p> </p><p>I start washing myself, trying not to pay attention to my hard on and the naked fairy right next to it. “Nah, you were, but you had to sleep with the main girls first. There were….eight? I think? Something around there. Plus a few bonus girls, but it was just the main eight you needed to seduce to unlock you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah that makes sense, I can definitely see myself giving in to get some after seeing a client sleep with that many girls.” She nods. “Alright, let’s do this then.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>New Quest!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Lusting over the Love Fairy</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Objective: Sleep with 8 girls</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Raise Kyu’s affection to 80 or more</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Bonus Objective: Max out Kyu’s affection</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Reward: Sex with Kyu unlocked, [Harem Leader] Perk, 8000 Hunie</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Bonus Reward: +15 Affection with ???, [Harem Master] Perk, 8000 Hunie</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Bonus Reward: +20 Affection with ???, [Harem King] Perk, 8000 Hunie</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to tempt me with all this you know,” I say. “I mean, I’ll take the side benefits. But I’m already feeling pretty motivated.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I can tell that much, big guy,” she says. She reaches out with a tiny hand and runs it up my shaft. I shiver. Her light touch feels way better than it has any right to. But then she backs off. “But a bit more motivation never hurts.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re such a tease,” I grumble. But she isn’t wrong. I’m feeling more motivated than ever to seduce some girls. Kyu makes sure to keep that motivation up by flying in front of my face and sensually rubbing soap into her body for the rest of the shower. The urge to grab her, jack off, and cover her in my semen is pretty strong.</p><p> </p><p>Huh. I’ve never really been into that before, but right now it’s an arousing thought. I guess Kyu isn’t the only one to discover a new fetish today.</p><p> </p><p>I resist the urge though. If I’m being honest it’s mostly because I’m actually enjoying the teasing. I finish the shower quickly and dress in my Kuoh Academy uniform. It takes some effort to arrange myself in my pants so my still going strong boner isn’t obvious, but I manage it. </p><p> </p><p>I feed Yua, snap some pictures of her eating, send them to Momo, grab my bag, and then exit. Kyu follows me, hidden. She’ll be at home while I’m in class to watch over Yua, but insists on joining me for the rest of the day so she doesn’t miss anything happening. Which is fair.</p><p> </p><p>My trip to school is uneventful. I see a lot of other students in Kuoh Academy’s uniform, and I find myself wanting to send a very fancy fruit basket to whoever designed the girls uniform. The short skirts showed off a lot of leg and the tops were technically fairly modest, but accented the girls chest very nicely.</p><p> </p><p>When I arrive at the front gates I see the familiar form of Sona Sitri waiting there. She greets me as I approach her.</p><p> </p><p>“Smith?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s me,” I reply with a polite smile. “Please, call me Axton though.”</p><p> </p><p>She nods. “I’m Sona Shitori, the Student Council President. If you’ll follow me to the Student Council room we can get you set up for classes today.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing, lead the way,” I reply. As she turns and sets off I use [Observe] on her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Sona Sitri</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Race: Devil</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Level: 109</b>
</p><p>
  <b>HP: 2430</b>
</p><p>
  <b>MP: 7800</b>
</p><p>
  <b>SP: 1980</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CON: 81</b>
</p><p>
  <b>STR: 66</b>
</p><p>
  <b>DEX: 62</b>
</p><p>
  <b>INT: 260</b>
</p><p>
  <b>WIS: 238</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CHA: 87</b>
</p><p>
  <b>LUK: 45</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Damn, she’s on a whole other level. But she’s focused on magic, which means her health is low enough that with my Ka-Bar knife and the enchanted Iron Dagger of Fire I got in the dungeon this morning, I could still one shot her. The Game is so busted and I love it. </p><p> </p><p>Not that I’d ever kill Sona, I really like her. Also her older sister would destroy me in a heartbeat. Hell, for all I know Serafall could have a warning system in place and would gank me before I could even try. So no, even if I had a reason to kill her, I’d either have to be a hell of a lot stronger, or a hell of a lot dumber.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve heard that the Student Council here at Kuoh takes on a lot more responsibilities than most other student councils. Is that why you’re handling me instead of just sending me to the Faculty office?” I ask, mostly to make conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s right. Kuoh strives to help teach it’s students leadership skills, and part of that is that the Student Council has more power and does more.” Hmm. That was probably the ‘official’ reason, but if I remember correctly the entire reason the Sitri heiress was here was in order to learn how to run a school, so I suspect that she had more of a hand in that then her words imply.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s pretty cool,” I say instead of my actual thoughts. “I wish more schools were like that.” I’m mostly just saying whatever I thought she might want to hear at this point.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
</p><p> </p><p>And apparently it‘s working. Better than I expected even. Perhaps this is the [Cunning Linguist] Perk in action?</p><p> </p><p>We arrive at the Student Council room and Sona opens the door and leads the way in. Inside is a nice but not ornate room. Several desks are aligned on the walls stacked with organized books, binders, and papers. In the center of the room are two couches facing each other with a coffee table between them.</p><p> </p><p>A colorful cast of characters sit at the desks, working away, including Momo, who smiles in greeting and I wave a little at her. I use [Observe] on the others and confirm that they are indeed Sona’s Peerage, as they’re all reincarnated devils between the levels of 60 and 80. </p><p> </p><p>One of said members is Genshirou Sachi, the genderbent version of Saji, the man who could’ve cockblocked me. Sachi has shoulder length blond hair, a small-ish chest, and a tomboy appearance. She’s pretty cute actually.</p><p> </p><p>Sona gestures for me to sit down on one of the couches and I do so. She goes to the only desk not facing the wall, instead facing the center of the room, and grabs a stack of papers and a small book stacked there. She brings them back to the center of the room, sits down on the opposite couch, and places the papers on the table between us.</p><p> </p><p>“All the main paperwork was done when you interviewed and were accepted,” Sona said. “These are things that you might need in the future. Your schedule, a student handbook, a form for ordering additional uniforms, a map of the school, and a few more useful items.”</p><p> </p><p>I pick up the papers and flip through them. The map is especially useful. The school building is pretty simple and it would be hard to get turned around, but this has everything labeled so I don’t have to guess where everything is.</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately there’s not enough time before Homeroom starts for a full tour, but I’m sure one of your classmates can show you around during lunch or after classes end,” she continues.</p><p> </p><p>“This map should be more than enough, but if someone does offer I’ll gladly take them up on it,” I reply with a polite smile. Especially if that someone was Momo or Sona. Or really any of the girls of the student council. Oh who am I kidding. If pretty much any girl offered me a tour I’d jump on it.</p><p> </p><p>“In that case, do you have any questions?”</p><p> </p><p>I make a show of flipping through the papers to double check. “Nope, looks like everything I still needed to know has been neatly organized and provided for me in these papers. Including my homeroom teacher.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good. The faculty office is just a couple doors down, and Ms. Harada is expecting you there. She’ll introduce you to your class.”</p><p> </p><p>Recognizing the dismissal, I stand up with my new papers. “Thank you very much for the help and the introduction,” I say. I head towards the door, but before I leave I make eye contact with Momo. “I’ll see you later Momo!” I wave goodbye and then exit the room.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>The Student Council Vice-President Tsubaki Shinra raised an eyebrow at the white haired girl. “Momo?”</p><p> </p><p>Momo blushed and carefully looked away. “I told you I met him yesterday,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“You did,” Tsubaki agreed. “But I feel like you left some details out if he’s already calling you by your first name without an honorific.” Momo’s blush deepened. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s not like that,” she insisted, clearly embarrassed. “He told me he doesn’t like being called by his family name, so he asked me to call him by his given name. I thought it was only fair that I let him do the same.” Her voice goes a little quieter. “I was surprised when he didn’t use the honorific, but I didn’t exactly hate it so I didn’t correct him.”</p><p> </p><p>Ruruoko Nimura, the first year with twintails, spoke up. “Oooh, Momo-senpai’s got a crush!” Momo blushed deeper and buried her face in her hands, but didn’t deny it. “Well, it’s not like I don’t get it,” she continued contemplatively. “He was pretty cute, and his voice was really nice. I wouldn’t mind for a guy like that to sweep me off my feet.”</p><p> </p><p>Momo gasped. “Ruroko-chan!”</p><p> </p><p>“Now now,” interrupted Tsubaki. “Don’t tease her too much Ruroko-san.” She turned her attention back to Momo. “You did get one thing right though, he didn’t have any trace of magical potential. Which is weird. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone without any magical potential at all. Even that girl that Gremory-san has her eye on has a little bit.”</p><p> </p><p>Momo, a bit more composed, jumps back into the conversation. “Which is really weird considering I swear he pulled that food out from a pocket space or summoned it or something. He definitely put it or teleported it away though, because I watched him put it in his pocket but just a couple minutes later that same pocket was definitely empty.”</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe Meguri, a busty girl with reddish-brown hair, spoke up for the first time. “Is he masking it somehow then? Maybe he’s a spy?”</p><p> </p><p>Momo shook her head. “That doesn’t really make much sense. If he was a spy, wouldn’t he suppress it instead? Having none at all just makes him stand out more.” She looked to the Student Council President, Sona Sitri. “Kaichou, didn’t you say you were going to run a background check on him on the supernatural side of things last night?”</p><p> </p><p>“I did,” replied Sona. “And it came up clean. As far as any of my family’s contacts can tell, he has no connection to the supernatural at all. Neither do his parents, or any family members that we could track down information for.”</p><p> </p><p>Tsubasa Yura, a tall girl with shoulder length blue hair spoke up. “Maybe it’s a Sacred Gear? I mean, normally it’s possible to tell if someone has one, but if Sacred Gear is based on hiding magical signatures or something along those lines, maybe it would hide itself as well?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence while everyone mulled that over. Sona spoke up. “I’ve never heard of a Sacred Gear like that, but it’s theoretically possible. I’ll ask Rias about it during lunch, maybe she has an idea.” She looks over to Momo. “Momo-san, after classes can you invite him here for a talk? I’d like to get to know the person my precious peerage member has a crush on better,” she teased with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Kaichouuuu,” Momo whined while the rest of the Student Council members smiled at the byplay.</p><p> </p><p>Unseen, a small Love Fairy exited the room.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Ojou-sama’s Favorite] - +20% Affection with affluent women</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Tsubaki Shinra</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Reya Kusuka</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Tomoe Meguri</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Tsubasa Yura</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Genshirou Sachi</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+10 Affection with Ruroka Nimura</b>
</p><p>
  <b>+10 Reputation with Kouh Student Council</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I guess I made a good impression? Also, did that perk mean Momo is a rich girl? I suddenly feel much better about only paying for half of Yua’s supplies. I guess Sona also counts as an Ojou-sama, though that makes sense since she’s heir to one of the big Devil lineages.</p><p> </p><p>I follow my homeroom teacher, Ms. Harada, to my classroom. She’s a somewhat plain woman, though with a bit of a wardrobe change she could easily pull off the sexy librarian look. I fantasize a bit about a taboo student-teacher relationship, but decide to wait to see if perhaps there’s a better teacher to target.</p><p> </p><p>We arrive at the classroom and she doesn’t slow down, entering immediately. Shrugging, I follow her dutifully and stand in the traditional transfer student spot while she introduces me to the class.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright class,” Ms. Harada. “This is the new transfer student, Axton Smith.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+40 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p> </p><p>What the fuck? No wait, the teacher is motioning to introduce myself, I’ll figure that out in a second. “Hey guys. Please, just call me Axton, I don’t like going by my family name.” Maybe if I say it now I won’t have to repeat myself a hundred times. Seriously, who picked Smith as my last name? Or is that the default because I didn’t pick one? Ugh, whatever. Oh right, I should say something else. Uhh, what was it that they always said in anime? “Thank you for taking care of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Smith,” the teacher says. I guess she decided she’s not going to use my first name. Whatever. Definitely finding a different teacher to fuck. “There’s a seat in the back row next to Kiryuu you can take.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course I get placed next to the girl who had the huge affection spike. Now that she’s been pointed out to me, I recognize her immediately. Brown hair in braided pigtails, large glasses, and a modest bust. She’s the mundane classmate that’s the female counterpart to the Perverted Trio who can tell a man's dick size just by looking at him. And right now she looks <em> very </em> interested in me. I guess there was at least one upside to Kyu messing with my dick size. It certainly got this girl's attention. </p><p> </p><p>I put on a friendly smile and make my way to my seat. I might actually have to thank Kyu. Aika is pretty damn cute and is one of the few rare girls who wears thigh high socks.  She’ll make the perfect first seduction target, and practice dummy for my new skill.</p><p> </p><p>Speaking of perverts, if Aika is in this class, then that Trio should be as well, though they’re probably a Duo now. I look around after I sit down. I look towards the stereotypical protagonist seat and see...some plain looking dude I don’t recognize. I hit him with [Observe] just in case, but the stats are boring and I don’t recognize the name. Casting my eyes around the classroom, I accidentally lock eyes with the person sitting in front of Aika, a <a href="https://pm1.narvii.com/6185/a1e8aac0389a8437c22e13c327ed0e438895fafb_hq.jpg"> girl with long brown hair </a>. She’s cute, very cute, but you can see hints of Issei on her face. This is likely the genderbent version of him. I use [Observe] to confirm.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Atsuko Hyoudou</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Race: Human</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Level: 8</b>
</p><p>
  <b>HP: 110</b>
</p><p>
  <b>MP: 40</b>
</p><p>
  <b>SP: 120</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CON: 11</b>
</p><p>
  <b>STR: 12</b>
</p><p>
  <b>DEX: 10</b>
</p><p>
  <b>INT: 4</b>
</p><p>
  <b>WIS: 5</b>
</p><p>
  <b>CHA: 55</b>
</p><p>
  <b>LUK: 30</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Huh. Level 8 was probably the highest level in this room outside of mine, though it seems like all of her stat points went to Charisma and Luck. Which made a lot of sense for an ecchi anime protagonist. Also Atsuko was her name. Genderbent Saji’s name was Sachi, which sounded similar to each other, but Issei was now Atsuko? Weird.</p><p> </p><p>Aika picks that moment to introduce herself. “Hi Axton, I’m Kiryuu Aika, but you can just call me Aika.”</p><p> </p><p>I smile in a friendly manner. “Nice to meet you Aika.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have your books for the classes?”</p><p> </p><p>I’m pretty sure I do, but I’m also pretty sure I know where this is leading, and I’m all for it. “No, there was a shipping delay, so I’m still waiting on them.” I probably could have come up with a better lie, one that didn’t rely on me assuming I had to order them, but whatever. I’ll have to keep relying on you, [Cunning Linguist].</p><p> </p><p>She smiles in a nearly predatory manner, though she’s quick to smooth it back out to just a normal smile. “In that case, we can share mine.”</p><p> </p><p>Perfect. “I’d really appreciate that Aika, thank you.” I say, flawlessly acting like a polite young man and not the flirtatious and horny teen I felt like at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>In a flash she’s moved her desk over to mine and is sitting rather close to me, thought not so close as to look strange to the others. I decide to lean in just a little bit to make it clear that I don’t mind how close she is.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Damn, this girl is on a hair trigger. Just a small move by me gets affection. At this rate I can max her out by the end of the day. I wonder what happens when Affection reaches 100?</p><p> </p><p>Before I can do anything else, the first teacher walks in and classes start for the day.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>Turns out, even at a prestigious school like this, high school classes were easy when you have an INT above 50 and a mind that had already gone through college. Enough that I could easily afford to get distracted every few minutes by using [Erotic Pierrot] on Aika.</p><p> </p><p>[Erotic Pierrot] was an interesting skill. When active, I could slowly either raise or lower their arousal. But it doesn’t provide a way to tell me how aroused they are, so noticing the effects is difficult. I started out slowly raising Aika’s arousal during class for a few seconds at a time every few minutes, trying to observe the results.</p><p> </p><p>At first, it didn’t really seem to be doing anything. That was until my leg accidentally pressed up against hers and for just a moment her breath got heavy and she started squirming. She got herself back under control fairly quickly, but not before I got a notification.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Dirty Minds Think Alike] - Increase affection gain of perverts by 20%</b>
</p><p> </p><p>After that I tried to use it a little lighter, aiming to keep her at that level of arousal. She didn’t visibly get worse, though I didn’t touch her again either, so maybe she was just really good at hiding her arousal.</p><p> </p><p>Either way, it was finally time for lunch, and time for part two of my plan. “Hey Aika, I’m still learning my way around the school. I don’t suppose you could give me a quick tour?” I flash her a smile.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+12 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Her smile is a bit unsteady. “Sure Axton, I’d be happy to.” She gets up, and I realize that perhaps I underestimated how much the skill is affecting her, as she’s a little shaky as she puts her desk back in its spot. </p><p> </p><p>I follow the obviously wound up Aika around the school. She makes a few comments about the places we pass, but she’s obviously distracted. When we reach a place where no one else is around, I decide to give her an extra nudge. I place my hand on her shoulder from behind. “Are you okay Aika? You seem a little distracted.” She immediately tenses up when I touch her and slowly looks back at me. I flash her with a knowing grin, making it clear that I know exactly what is ‘distracting’ her. I can see it in her eyes when she makes the decision. Also, I get a notification. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+12 Affection with Aika Kiryuu</b>
</p><p> </p><p>She grabs my hand. “Come on, there’s one more place I want to show you.”</p><p> </p><p>A short walk through empty hallways brings us to a supply closet. She opens the door and pulls me in, shutting the door behind me. </p><p> </p><p>I open my mouth to say something but before I can she’s pressed up against me and kissing me. I definitely underestimated how aroused I made her. This is exactly what I wanted though, so I don’t hesitate to go with the flow. My hands grab her waist and pull her closer to me as we make out. </p><p> </p><p>After just a few seconds of making out I can feel myself starting to get erect, and so can Aika. Not stopping the kiss, she reaches down with one hand and rubs me over my pants, encouraging its growth. She shivers lightly as she runs her hand along its length. When it’s hard enough that my pants are starting to become painfully tight, she breaks the kiss.</p><p> </p><p>“When I saw you, I immediately knew you had the biggest dick of any guy I’ve ever seen,” she says in a breathy voice. “I’ve been imagining it all morning, and I <em> need </em> to do this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Feel free,” I reply in a teasing tone. “I’m certainly not going to stop you.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes light up and instantly she’s on her knees unbuckling my pants. A moment later, my ten inch shaft is standing tall in front of her face. She just gapes at it and shivers for a moment, taking in the sight. One hand goes under her skirt, and I’m not even sure she’s aware of that fact.</p><p> </p><p>Her other hand grasps my dick and starts to slowly work it’s way up and down, lightly stroking it. I let out a heavy breath, almost a groan. Aika’s not the only horny one here. I was still pent up from Kyu’s teasing this morning.</p><p> </p><p>Her soft hands slowly pumping my erection is heavenly, but it’s also torture. As good as it feels, it will take way too long to finish me at this rate.</p><p> </p><p>It seems it isn’t enough for her either, and she moves forward and wraps her lips around the head of my penis. I feel her tongue flick against the very tip of my tongue and let out a real groan this time. Her hand under her skirt starts moving faster in response.</p><p> </p><p>Slowly, she takes more and more of my shaft into her mouth, her tongue licking it all over as she does. Instinctively, my hands grab her head, right where her pigtails are. The wetness of her mouth and the movement of her tongue feels amazing, and she keeps going.</p><p> </p><p>She gets about halfway down my shaft before she seems to hit her limit. When she does, she looks up to me. There was a pleading expression in her eyes. I nod to show my understanding, grab her by her pigtails, and forcibly pull her further onto my dick. </p><p> </p><p>It’s two more inches before I feel like I’ve reached the limit. And when I reach that point, she seizes up and starts shuddering heavily while moaning around my dick, and I realize that she just came.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you really just cum from giving <em> me </em> a blowjob?” I ask her. Her only response is to moan more. Deciding that this had gone on long enough, I grab her by the head again, and start fucking her face. Rather than get upset or protest, she seems to only get more excited by this, her hand working furiously under her skirt again.</p><p> </p><p>Even with the occasional scrape of her teeth, the feeling of thrusting my dick past her lips, over her tongue and down her throat is indescribable, and it’s not long before I feel my climax approaching. Thrusting into her mouth one last time, going just a bit further than I managed before, I cum.</p><p> </p><p>I feel thick shots of jizz erupt directly into her throat. Her eyes widen and she spasms again, cumming for a second time. Before I finish cumming I pull out of her mouth and shoot a few strands onto her face.</p><p> </p><p>I can only describe her expression as ‘blissful’ as she comes down from her second orgasm. Almost distractedly she collects the semen on her face with her fingers and puts it in her mouth, savoring the taste of it. The sight is nearly enough to get me hard again, but it seems that I can’t go twice in a row. Yet. I’m sure some improvements to my stats will fix that.</p><p> </p><p>Aika finishes collecting all the cum on her face and swallows it all. She shudders again. “Holy shit,” she whispers. “That was amazing.”</p><p> </p><p>“I would have to agree,” I say, my breath a little heavy. “I don’t think I’ve ever cum that hard before.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+24 Affection with Aika</b>
</p><p> </p><p>She seems a little out of it still, but she stands up on shaky legs. “I’m going to go clean myself up a little bit. I’ll see you in class Axton.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure thing Aika,” I reply. “I’ll see you there.”</p><p> </p><p>She exits the closet and looks around. When she motions that the coast is clear I follow her out. She heads off in one direction, and I set out in another. </p><p> </p><p>I whistle a tune as I walk to the cafeteria. It’s good to be a Gamer.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. DxD: Tutorial 03</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aika makes it back to the classroom a few minutes before lunch period ends, and if I didn’t know any better, I would never have guessed she just got face fucked.</p><p> </p><p>She moves her desk back to next to mine and sits down. She surreptitiously reaches into her skirt pocket and pulls something out, keeping it hidden in a closed fist. She offers it to me, and I oblige by holding my hand out to receive it.</p><p> </p><p>Something warm, soft, and just a little damp falls into my hand. I look down and immediately close my hand, hiding it from sight. Those are definitely her panties.</p><p> </p><p>I look at her and see a flirty smile on her face, and I grin back at her. Making it look like I’m putting them in my pocket, I stash them in my inventory. They’ll make a good gift for Kyu. If I remember right, she collects them.</p><p> </p><p>Speaking of Kyu, I haven’t seen her since I met with Sona this morning. She must have gone back home and decided not to come back here for my lunch break. She’s definitely going to be annoyed she missed what happened.</p><p> </p><p>Aika writes something down on a scrap of paper and then hands it to me. I take it and see that it’s her contact information. I make a show of pulling out my phone and entering in her information before sending her a text so she has mine. I half expect another notification for affection gain for that, but nothing appears. Perhaps her affection is too high for something small like that to increase it? </p><p> </p><p>I was going to mess with Aika’s arousal more during the afternoon classes, see if I can’t seal the deal before going home, but now I’m curious about what she’ll do on her own.</p><p> </p><p>So for the rest of the days classes, I don’t use [Erotic Pierrot]. At least not on Aika. Japanese class is taught by <a href="https://www.gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SoM_Fami-shot_03-11-15_004.jpg"> Ms. Nakano </a>, and as soon as I see her I decide that she will be the teacher I seduce. Her hair is a dark blue and tied up in a ponytail. She’s wearing a sharp pair of glasses, a long coat, a skirt, stockings, and leather high heel boots.</p><p> </p><p>I’m careful to not show too much interest. Not only because Aika is right next to me and I’m not sure if she’ll be jealous or not, but also because I need to play this one a bit slower. Aika is a huge pervert, so really she just needed a bit of a push to do what she did. Momo is also a long play, and honestly part of that is more about building good relations with Sona and her peerage than trying to sleep with her, though that is still definitely on the table.</p><p> </p><p>But Ms. Nakano is an adult woman, and quite the pretty one too. She’s not an inexperienced teenager, she’s someone who’s almost certainly had people pursue her before. She looks like she might be a bit strict as well, so trying to seduce her as a student isn’t going to work with just some flirting. Thankfully, I have more than that.</p><p> </p><p>During the class, every time she looks at me, or close enough in my direction, I use [Erotic Pierrot] on her as hard as I can. Which isn’t very hard, though I can feel it slowly increasing in effectiveness as it levels up. I’m careful not to be looking at her every time I do it. About half the time I’m looking down at the reference book in front of me or writing down some notes.</p><p> </p><p>It goes a lot like it did with Aika. At first, there isn’t any visible change or effect, nothing that tells me it’s working. But just like it did with Aika, the Game let’s me know that it’s working. One time our eyes meet, I ramp up her arousal, and I get a notification.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+10 Affection with Mio Nakano</b>
</p><p> </p><p>She blushes very slightly and quickly looks away, but I now know that my plan is working. Unfortunately, after that she doesn’t look at me nearly as often, or even at the corner of the room I was in, so I don’t get many more opportunities to raise her arousal. But I get some in, as well as five more Affection</p><p> </p><p>A week of this and I wonder what will happen? Maybe then I’ll approach her asking for some ‘help’ with my studies or on a piece of homework or something. </p><p> </p><p>But it’s not long before that class ends, and the final class of the day is taught by a male teacher and I lose interest. I follow along with the lesson, but I’m sort of autopiloting it. The downside of attending Kuoh Academy was definitely having to attend classes. It had its perks though. Aika alone was worth at least a couple weeks of classes, not to mention all the other very attractive girls this school was filled with.</p><p> </p><p>About ten minutes before the end of class I see Kyu slip into the room. As she gets close, I see her notice how close Aika is, and her expression becomes teasing. “I leave you alone for just a few hours and you’re already getting close to another girl? You’re such a bad boy.”</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, while she can make herself unseen and unheard, I can’t do the same, so I can’t reply to her. Instead, I just smirk at her, trying to get across that she doesn't know the half of it. It doesn’t seem to work, so instead I lightly bump Aika with my shoulder. She glances over at me, and I smile at her. She blushes and looks down. Kyu gets it then, and her eyes unfocus for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god her affection is at <em> 98</em>? I missed something didn’t I? What did you do? What did she do? How far did you go?” Before I can begin to figure out how to tell her she shakes her head. “No wait, tell me later, I want to hear <em> all </em>the details.”</p><p> </p><p>She sits cross legged on the corner of my desk. “Besides, I have some gossip of my own.” I raise an eyebrow in interest. “After your meeting with the devil girl this morning I stuck around, and they had a really interesting conversation about you.”</p><p> </p><p>Huh. It hadn’t occurred to me to use Kyu as a little spy. And even now I felt like the moment I tried to force her to do it, she’ll just flip me off. But if she feels like it herself, I’ll gladly use that information.</p><p> </p><p>“Well first of all,” she starts. “Momo definitely has a crush on you, but you pretty much knew that already. Second, the twintail girl with the striped socks is also a bit interested. She said she wouldn’t mind you ‘sweeping her off her feet’.”</p><p> </p><p>Excellent, another cute girl in tall socks. I make a note to bump her up in my priority list a bit. I nod a bit to tell Kyu to continue.</p><p> </p><p>“The rest of the conversation was less fun, but it’s also probably a bit more serious. Momo noticed you using your inventory, though she thought it was you using magic”</p><p> </p><p>Shit. So much for flying under the radar. </p><p> </p><p>Kyu must have seen the worry on my face, because she shakes her head and continues. “No, I don’t think it’s too bad. They got distracted by something else, something weirder.” She explains what they said about my apparent lack of magic or magic potential, and the guesses they came up with.</p><p> </p><p>I’m glad to hear that they don’t think I’m a spy. A human with an odd Sacred Gear is much preferable. In fact, it could potentially make me desirable. But I have no idea why they can’t sense my magic. My mana pool alone rivals a low level reincarnated devil. And my magic related stats, INT and WIS, are both much higher than the average human.</p><p> </p><p>Is it because I’m a Rogue? That doesn’t sound right. Maybe if I was using [Sneak], but that’s an active skill, it shouldn’t have any effect when I’m not using it. In fact, none of my perks or skills should have an effect like this.</p><p> </p><p>Wait. Not a skill or a perk, but there was that Trait, wasn’t there? I pull it up.</p><p> </p><p><b>[Void Touched]<br/></b> <b>Your soul has been marked by the time spent between worlds<br/></b> <b>Unknown effects</b></p><p> </p><p>“Yep, that’s my best guess too,” says Kyu. “At first I thought maybe it was because your soul is from a world without magic and they didn’t really recognize the magic you get as a Gamer, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that being true. The system is pretty robust. So it’s gotta be that trait.”</p><p> </p><p>Seemingly in response to her words, a new window pops up.</p><p> </p><p><b>Trait updated!<br/></b> <b>[Void Touched]<br/></b> <b>Your soul has been marked by the time spent between worlds<br/></b> <b>Masks mana and the usage of magic. ???</b></p><p> </p><p>“Oh good, I was hoping that would happen.” I shoot her a look. “See, when the system doesn’t know something, it needs the Gamer to figure it out. Once the Gamer gets an idea of what the effect might be, it does some checks on its end and confirms it.”</p><p> </p><p>That sounded like a weird way of doing things. You would think a system that smart would notice it immediately. But maybe that was just it trying to be more like a game, and have me discover it more dynamically. After all, it only updated when I thought of it, not when Kyu did, and she’s essentially the admin for my connection to the Game.</p><p> </p><p>But more importantly, this has some great implications. While my apparent lack of mana might stand out to some, it could be used to my benefit as well if my enemy doesn’t think I can use magic at all. And more than that, being able to cast without mana sensitive people being able to feel it is <em> huge </em>. Stealth magic, assassination magic, and all sorts of other options opened up.</p><p> </p><p>I also realize with a bit of dread that I’ve been casually flinging around magic all day, raising Aika’s and my teachers lust. I’m not sure exactly what a devil's sensitivity to magic is, but there is the very real possibility that they would’ve sensed me doing that if it weren’t for my trait. That would have ended very poorly.</p><p> </p><p>The bell marking the end of the day rings, and the room bustles into activity as students start packing their things. Aika moves her desk back and turns to me with a flirty smile. “Do you have any plans Axton? I can show you around town if you want.” </p><p> </p><p>I’m only seven points from maxing her out, and a date to end the day sounds pretty nice. But before I can accept, I hear someone call out to me from the classroom door. I look and I see Momo standing there, smiling and waving. Though I also see her eyes flick to Aika before focusing back on me. “Axton? Sona wants to talk to you if you have a moment.”</p><p> </p><p>I turn to Aika. “Sorry, looks like the President needs something. I’ll have to take a raincheck.”</p><p> </p><p>She pouts a little bit but brushes it off. “Sure sure, no problem.” With a quick goodbye, I grab my stuff and follow Momo to the student council room, Kyu trailing just behind us.</p><p> </p><p>“I see you’re making friends already Axton,” says Momo. Her tone is friendly, and not at all accusatory, but I can’t help but to suspect she’s at least wondering if she should be jealous or not. Alright, just need to play it cool.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Since I’m sitting next to her she offered to help me get used to things here and answered some of my questions,” I say. “Though you mostly covered it yesterday when we talked, so I didn’t have many.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad our students are so helpful to new students,” she says, her tone definitely just a bit more friendly and relaxed now. Damn, I really need to finish Kyu’s quest. I don’t think I can juggle the jealousy of multiple girls, and I bet one of those harem perks the quest offers will help with that.</p><p> </p><p>“The reception here has been a lot warmer than I expected,” I say. After all, how many transfer students could say that they got a deepthroat from a girl they had just met on their first day?</p><p> </p><p>...Probably a few actually. Teenagers were horny.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad to hear that,” she says. We arrive at the student council, and Momo leads the way in. Sona is sitting on one of the couches. On the table in front of her is a chessboard, already set with the pieces.</p><p> </p><p>She looks up as we enter and smiles in greeting. “Thank you for coming Axton. Please, have a seat.”</p><p> </p><p>I oblige and sit down in front of her. Momo gives me a reassuring smile before going to a desk, presumably to do some work.</p><p> </p><p>“So what can I help you with President?” I ask.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, now that we have more time, I was hoping to talk to you about the clubs here at Kuoh. And I was also hoping that you would indulge me in a game of chess while we talk. I find it’s a good way to get to know a person.”</p><p> </p><p>Is she scouting me? In her eyes I’m a normal human that has made an okay impression, is close to one of her peerage members, and has something odd with his mana. So maybe not scouting me, but instead investigating me. </p><p> </p><p>“Sure,” I agree. “Though I haven’t played chess in years, and I never got very good at it, so I’m afraid I won’t offer much of a challenge.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine,” she dismisses. “I just saw on your application that you were part of the gaming club, so I thought maybe we could both enjoy a game. Though, from your words, I can guess that chess wasn’t one of the games you played.”</p><p> </p><p>Shit, was I? I delve into my fake memories. Oh, yeah, look at that. Well honestly that just makes sense. Of course the Gamer was part of the Game club. Buying time to think of a response, I look down at the chessboard. I was white, meaning I went first. I pick up a pawn and move it. “I asked some of the older club members about that actually,” I say, coming up with a lie on the spot. “Apparently with games like chess there would always be one or two people in the club who would dominate and then nobody would want to play it with them. So we mostly only played games that had an element of chance to them, so that way everyone has fun and always has a shot at winning.”</p><p> </p><p>Sona spends much less time thinking about her move, and she moves a piece nearly immediately. “Oh? They didn’t work harder to get better at chess to defeat them?”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head and answer while I contemplate my next move. “Well, it was a gaming club. Most of the people there just wanted to hang out and play games with their friends. There was a bit of a competitive spirit sometimes, but only ever up to a certain point.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you?” she asks.</p><p> </p><p>I shrug. “I just like games. I like figuring out their mechanics and how to use them to your advantage. I didn’t want to be the best at any of the games, I just wanted to play as many games as possible and figure them out. Though usually figuring them out requires getting at least pretty good at them.”</p><p> </p><p>“But not chess?”</p><p> </p><p>“I just never got around to it. Also, it was a little intimidating. On the surface, chess is a pretty simple game. 16 pieces of six different types, each type has its own movement rules but none of them are difficult to learn or memorize. Each player starts on an even playing field with the same exact condition, and the field of play is small. But just those few simple variables leads to a very complicated game.”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. “Except it’s not just the game. At high level play, both players have mastered the mechanics. That’s probably true at medium level play too. But at that point, you’re not playing in the game, you’re playing against the other person. And sure, you’re always playing against another person with their own strategies in mind, but in a game like chess with limited variables, the mind game becomes the much larger part of the equation.</p><p> </p><p>“You see the same thing in a lot of competitive video games too. Top players all put a lot of practice in to pull off some very skilled things, but that just allows them to play in certain ways. A lot of the time, the players that come out on top are better at guessing what their opponent will do. It’s really easy to see this in fighting games, where each match is a mind game of learning how your opponent plays, using that to predict them, and then adapting your own gameplay when they start predicting you, and just doing that over and over until one of them comes out on top.</p><p> </p><p>“Which isn’t all that different from a chess game actually. Chess is just at a slower pace, each move taking course over multiple seconds or minutes, instead of milliseconds.” I notice that Sona hasn’t made a move yet, and I look up from the board to see her looking at me with a bemused expression on her face. Ah. I just kind of went on a rant. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to ramble on.”</p><p> </p><p>Sona shakes her head. “No, no. It was an interesting analysis of chess and how it compares to other games. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone equate chess and fighting games before.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I got lucky that Sona appreciates a bit of nerd talk. Apparently. “I don’t think I have either, truth be told,” I laugh. We go back to making moves.</p><p> </p><p>“So it’s the mind game part of chess that put you off?” she asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Not exactly. It was more of a time commitment sort of thing. I could put a lot of time into getting really good at chess, or I could put that same amount of time into getting decently good at ten other games. Chess has always been one of the games I wanted to get good at though.” That last line was probably the biggest lie I had told so far. I was pretty meh about chess in truth, but I definitely wasn’t going to tell Sona ‘I bet my marriage on chess games’ Sitri that.</p><p> </p><p>“I see,” she says. “Will you be joining the gaming club here? They don’t have a rule about only playing games with chance in them, but your enthusiasm for understanding the design of the games would fit right in.”</p><p> </p><p>I shrug. “Maybe. I was thinking I might look for something that’s a bit closer to what I want to do in life.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what is that?”</p><p> </p><p>I hesitate. Well, before I died I was in the IT field. But now that I’m a multiversal gamer, I have very different ambitions. Still, I can’t just tell her ‘ascend to godhood and fuck bitches’. </p><p> </p><p>I hesitate too long though, and Sona comes to her own conclusions. “I see. As the Student Council President, I feel like I should urge you to figure out what you want to do with your life.”</p><p> </p><p>I laugh nervously and scratch the back of my head. “If it’s any consolation, I suffer from having to pick from a lot of things I want to do, rather than having a lack of them.”</p><p> </p><p>She shoots me a dry look. “That’s only a little better.”</p><p> </p><p>I shrug. “I’ll figure it out. It’s why I like trying new things. It helps me figure out what’s most important to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm,” is her only response. She makes another move. “And that’s checkmate.”</p><p> </p><p>I examine the board, looking for a way out, but find none. “So it is.” I stick my hand out for a handshake. “Good game. I had forgotten how fun chess can be.” Another lie, though not as big of one.</p><p> </p><p>Sona shakes my hand with a smile. “It was a good game. You didn’t do so bad.” This time she was the one lying. It was definitely the best game of chess I’ve ever played, but that’s only because of the Game and my increased INT score. But even if our INT scores had been equal, she still would’ve beaten me. There’s too much of a gap in experience and familiarity with the game. She spent the entire match in control. The only pieces I managed to take were baited pawns that she used to take out my more valuable pieces.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Huh. Sona is pretty easy to get affection for, isn’t she? Half an hour total of conversation and a chess game and she’s already at 23 Affection.</p><p> </p><p>“Another game?” she asks.</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. “Sorry. I adopted a kitten yesterday and while I have a friend who looks after her during the school day, I don’t want to rely on them too much.” Also I don’t want to sit through another game just to get my ass handed to me. I’ll have to download a chess app or something, get some practice in.</p><p> </p><p>“I understand,” she says. “I’m sorry for keeping you late.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, it’s fine. I had fun playing and talking to you.” I grab my bag and get up. “Bye Momo, I’ll text you later!” With my final farewell, I leave the student council room.</p><p> </p><p><b>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai<br/></b> <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Tsubaki Shinra<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Reya Kusuka<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Tsubasa Yura<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Sachi Genshirou<br/></b> <b>+5 Affection with Ruroka Nimura<br/></b> <b>+5 Reputation with with Kuoh Student Council</b></p><p> </p><p>Why did those all come right at the end again? Whatever, I’ll take the easy affection gain.</p><p> </p><p>Kyu speaks up as soon as we’re out of earshot of the Student Council Room. “So spill already, I need all the details about what happened with Miss Pigtails.”</p><p> </p><p>“I actually have you to thank for that one,” I say. “Between her ability to tell a guys dick size just by looking at them, and what I’m pretty sure is a big dick fetish, she was on me as soon as she saw me.” I shrug. “A little arousal manipulation during classes, and by lunch she got me alone, pulled me into a supply closet, and gave me the best blowjob I’ve ever had, in either life.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ha! I told you the big dick was better.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah yeah. I’ll give you that one.” I exit the school building and start making my way home. “Still, kinda wish Sona hadn’t invited me for a chat. I think I could’ve gotten Aika into my bed today.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t give up yet,” Kyu says. “Because I think you’ve still got a shot.” I look at her in askance, and she just points to the school gates. Aika stood there, obviously waiting for someone, most likely me. I turn and head directly towards her. She sees me a moment later and her face lights up. Is this what 93 Affection means? If so, I’m going to need to work harder on the other girls.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t need to wait for me,” I say with a friendly smile. “Though I do appreciate it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I didn’t have anything else to do,” she replies, blushing lightly, but her smile is predatory. “And I figured your meeting with the President would be pretty quick, so it was worth sticking around for a little bit to see.”<br/><br/></p><p>She must want it pretty bad. I’ll happily oblige her.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re free then, could I ask you for a favor?” I ask with a flirty smile. “I could use a study partner to help me go over what I learned today, and get caught up. My place is a pretty short walk from here, we could do it there.”</p><p> </p><p>I consider using [Erotic Pierrot] on her, but I honestly don’t think I need to. And while normally I’m a ‘better safe than sorry’ sort of guy, I want to see what she does without supernatural encouragement.</p><p> </p><p>Her blush deepens, but her expression only becomes more excited. “I’d be happy to help you out with your ‘studies’ Axton.” She winks. “And maybe you can teach me something as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I’ll make sure we both benefit from our session,” I reply. “Come on, my place is a ten minute walk this way.”</p><p> </p><p>Side by side, we set down the road. There’s no conversation on the way there, but instead an almost palpable feeling of expectation fills the space between us. The urge to put my hands on her before we get to my place is strong, but I resist the temptation. There’s no need to rush into anything.</p><p> </p><p>We arrive at my apartment, and I open the door and invite Aika inside. I take off my shoes and wait for her to take off hers before I gently grab her hand and lead her to my bedroom. I don’t bother to maintain the ruse of a study session anymore. We both knew what our real intentions are.</p><p> </p><p>It’s a small apartment so it’s a short trip to the bedroom. Once inside I turn around to look at Aika. She’s flushed, and her expression is equal parts hungry and excited. I don’t waste time with words, instead I place my hands on her thin waist and pull her in and kiss her.</p><p> </p><p>The kiss starts soft, but within seconds a neediness grows  in both of us and it deepens rapidly. Our tongues mingle, swirling around each other as we explore the other's mouth. My hands move down to cup her ass, and her hands clutch tight onto the front of my shirt.</p><p> </p><p>She pushes me back and I let her. I fall back onto the bed without breaking contact with her and in moments I’m stretched out on my back with her on top of me, straddling me as our heavy makeout session continues.</p><p> </p><p>My dick, now fully erect, pushes against the constraints of my pants and grinds into Aika’s crotch. She moans into my mouth and I feel her rub against me. My hands, still on her butt, squeeze in response.</p><p> </p><p>She breaks the kiss, but doesn’t move away, leaving a strand of saliva connecting us as we breathe heavily, tasting each other's breath. Her face is flushed, but her eyes are clear.</p><p> </p><p>She sits up into an upright position, still straddling me. My eyes move down to the enticing bit of skin between her socks and the skirt covering where our crotches meet. My eyes are quickly drawn back up though, as she starts unbuttoning her shirt. Following her lead, I do the same, and my shirt is unbuttoned by the time her shirt is off. Her bra is plain, a deep purple color, though I pay it little attention as it quickly comes off as well, leaving a pair of modest breasts free to be seen.</p><p> </p><p>Modest they may be, but there is more than enough to sink my hand into, and I do so immediately as I sit up. One hand sinks into the soft flesh of her right boob while my mouth finds the other. She moans softly into my ear as my lips find her nipple. Not wanting the other one to be left out, I pinch it lightly in my hand as I grope her. </p><p> </p><p>She grinds against me in response, and I remember that she’s not wearing any panties. The thought is arousing enough that I lose all patience.</p><p> </p><p>“I need you,” I rasp. “Now.”</p><p> </p><p>She must agree because her hands instantly dive for my pants, unbuckling them and pulling them down. I see my ten-inch shaft for just a moment before it disappears beneath her skirt, which she doesn’t bother to remove.</p><p> </p><p>She positions herself and then slowly lowers down, guiding my tip into her wet and waiting entrance. I moan as she sinks onto my cock. In a moment that simultaneously feels like forever and no time at all, she lowers herself all the way, burying my dick inside her completely. I moan again, holding back an orgasm that threatens to spill over me.</p><p> </p><p>Aika doesn’t do the same though, and she shudders on top of me, crying out, not bothering to hold back her voice. I feel her clench around me even tighter. Reflexively my hips buck upwards, and she moans again in response.</p><p> </p><p>No longer capable of conscious thought, my hands grab her hips and I start thrusting upwards. Aika starts moaning in earnest as she rides me, her breasts bouncing with the movement. </p><p> </p><p>I lay back down, pulling her with me and I capture her lips with my own. My tongue thrusts into her mouth and finds her willing tongue there. Her moans don’t stop, with her moaning directly into my mouth instead as she rides my dick. </p><p> </p><p>My hands are on her ass again, this time under her skirt as I grab the bare flesh and pull her harder onto me. I can feel the nipples against my bare chest, moving as she does, and the feeling pushes me to my limit.</p><p> </p><p>Picking up the pace I feel Aika tighten around me. I thrust rapidly into her, fingers gripping her tightly. She clenches around me again and bites my lip, hard, and I can no longer hold it back. </p><p> </p><p>A wave of ecstasy rushes over me and I slam hard into her one last time. I feel my balls churn as I cum, depositing a massive load of semen deep inside of her. My orgasm lasts for what feels like forever, my cum continuing to pump into Aika as I feel her pulse around me.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, it ends, and it’s like the strings holding me up are cut, and I relax, letting out the breath I had been subconsciously holding. Aika is in a similar state and falls completely onto me, the both of us breathing heavily. I feel myself slowly soften inside of her, but neither of us moves, leaving us connected while we recover.</p><p> </p><p><b>+2 Affection with Aika Kiryuu<br/></b> <b>Skill rewarded for reaching 100 Affection with Aika Kiryuu<br/></b> <b>[Lewd Scouter](Active) - EX<br/></b> <b>Activate on a target in eyesight to learn sexual information about them.</b></p><p> </p><p>That sounds like a mix between Aika’s ability to guess dick size and my [Observe]. Do I get skills related to the person if I max out their affection? Holy shit that’s amazing. My list of priority girls just tripled in size. Which defeats the point of a priority list a little bit, but I’m feeling greedy after this new revelation.</p><p> </p><p>I’m feeling less out of breath and more relaxed and content now, so I decide to speak up. “Now <em> that </em> was definitely the hardest I’ve ever cum before,” I say, referencing what I said to her earlier in the supply closet. I feel her laugh softly on my chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” she admits. “I don’t think I can go back to toys.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fortunately, you don’t need to,” I point out. “I might not be free 100% of the time, but I can definitely find some time for some fun time with a cute girl like you Aika.”</p><p> </p><p>She’s silent for a moment. “Girls like me, huh?” She sits upright, exposing herself. “Does that mean you’ll sleep with other girls too?”</p><p> </p><p>Ah, shit. “Uhh. Is that going to be a problem?”</p><p> </p><p>She looks down at me, her face contemplative. But then she shudders, and I feel her tighten a little around my soft member still buried inside her. “The opposite, I think,” she says. “The thought of you getting other girls addicted to your cock is turning me on. Especially if I’m there, helping.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh right, Aika was a pervert. I grin. “Oh, yeah? So you want to be there, be my wingwoman, get girls into my bed, and impale them on my dick like you are right now?”</p><p> </p><p>She shudders again. “<em> Yes </em>,” she breathes. And I’m not sure if it’s her words, or if simply enough time has passed, but I feel myself hardening again. And from the smug expression on her face, she feels it too.</p><p> </p><p>I sit up and kiss her, softly and tenderly. “You are amazing, you know that? Of all the girls I could’ve gotten put next to, I’m glad it was you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she replies, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Now shut up and fuck me so hard I’ll have to limp home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes ma’am,” I grin, and our lips lock again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Half an hour later I’m relaxing on my bed, playing on a chess app I installed on my phone, naked, sweaty, and reeking of sex. Aika is in my shower, cleaning herself up. She offered to let me join her, but I didn’t think either of us would get much cleaner if I did so I turned her down.</p><p> </p><p>Yua came over and curled up on my chest, giving me a nice little 5 Affection when she did so. I’m surprised at how friendly she is, but I’m certainly not complaining. I snap a picture of her, one that just so happens to show off my bare chest and abs, though angled so you can’t tell I’m not wearing pants, and send it to Momo. It’s obvious I’m sweaty and tired though, so I follow it with a comment. <em> I think she likes how warm I am after a workout </em>. A minute later I get a notification that my affection with Momo has increased by six and I laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, that was fucking hot,” says Kyu from somewhere. I look up from my phone and see her sitting on top of the dresser. It’s hard to tell from here but she looks a little flushed, and her outfit is disheveled. “I was expecting her to be the lonely nerd type who’s easy to pick up, what with those glasses and pigtails. But she’s sort of a freak, isn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, she’s great isn’t she?” I open up my inventory. “Oh right. I got these after lunch and I was going to give them to you sooner but I got distracted.” I pull out Aika’s panties, still as warm and damp as when she gave them to me, and throw them at her.</p><p> </p><p>They unfurl in the air and cover the diminutive fairy entirely. A squee of delight sounds from under them. “Oh my god, panties as big as a blanket. This is the best!” A moment of silence. “And they are <em> very </em> used.”</p><p> </p><p>“She came twice masturbating while she was blowing me during lunch. She then gave me those immediately after, and they’ve been sitting nice and fresh in my inventory.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+7 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I hear the shower turn off. “Hide them for now Kyu, either in my inventory or in a drawer or something. She might not be able to see you, but she’ll see the panties squirming around.” Kyu pokes her head out and sticks her tongue out at me, but the panties disappear a moment later. I carefully shift Yua off my chest, ignoring her noises of complaint, and stand up and put some underwear on. It would feel weird to be the only naked one.</p><p> </p><p>Aika comes out of the bathroom, cleaned up, dressed, and once again distinctly not looking like she just had sex. I smirk when I see that she is walking a bit stiff though.</p><p> </p><p>“As much as I would like to stay longer, I should get going now,” she said. “My mother expects me home for dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>I nod. “In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” I kiss her softly and she leans in, wrapping her arms around me. She breaks this kiss after a minute or two, and then she leaves after saying goodbye.</p><p> </p><p>After she leaves I contemplate going to the dungeon to finish exploring it and kill the boss, but as I do I get a reply from Momo, and end up getting sucked into a conversation with her. Which reminds me that I really haven’t spent enough time with Yua, so I decide to multitask by playing with Yua while texting Momo.</p><p> </p><p>A few more pictures get snapped and sent to Momo, and then Momo surprises me by sending one back of her own. We were talking about workout routines, and I guess she was feeling bold because the picture she sent me was her in her own workout outfit. Instead of the bloomers and the t-shirt that are so stereotypically common, the picture shows her in a simple sports bra and tight fitting shorts. Looking closely, I can see just a hint of a bump where her nipples are. Her hair is also up in a ponytail, which is a look I very much approve of.</p><p> </p><p><em> Looking good Momo </em>, I send back. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p> </p><p><em> We should work out together sometime </em>, she replies.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Absolutely. Working up a sweat with you sounds like a lot of fun. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Normally I’m not so quick to use an innuendo that obvious, but…</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p> </p><p>In a hentai anime world, you can get away with being a lot more forward. I check her Affection, and it’s currently at 72. If she was crushing on me before, she has to be smitten with me now.</p><p> </p><p>We text for a couple more hours. At some point Yua wanders off to go nap or explore or whatever kittens do, so I switch to playing chess on my phone between texts. I’m definitely getting better. My INT score is making it easier to learn from my mistakes, and once I switch to playing against other people, I learn rapidly. I get a surprising alert while I’m playing though.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+5 INT</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Kyu?” I call out. “Can I raise my stats by training too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhh, yeah?” she replies. I see her wrapped up in Aika’s panties on top of the dresser. “That’s like Gamer 101 shit. I figured you knew that already.”</p><p> </p><p>I consider rebuking her, but she’s not wrong. Wait, does that mean there are other things like that?</p><p> </p><p>“Is there a Party system?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep. You gotta invite someone to your party to access all that stuff though.” I immediately try inviting Kyu to my party. “You can’t invite <em> me </em> to your party dumbass,” she says when nothing happens. “I’m too tied into the system, it’s like trying to invite your inventory or something to your party.”</p><p> </p><p>Well whatever. Hmm. How about…</p><p> </p><p><b>Yua added to your Party<br/></b> <b>Level difference between Yua and Party Leader is greater than 10 levels<br/></b> <b>Only 25% of XP will be shared</b></p><p> </p><p>Huh. That worked. More surprising is that <em> any </em> amount of XP will be shared, but I guess it’s there for powerleveling. What sort of game would it be if a Level 100 player couldn’t help boost their level 1 friend through the early levels in a flash?</p><p> </p><p>More importantly, did that mean I can level up Yua? What would that even do? Increase her stats? If she has stats equivalent to your average person, would she be as smart as a person? Or would she be as smart as an average cat? Well, there was only one way to find out.</p><p> </p><p>I tell Momo that I’m turning in for the night, equip my dungeon gear, and grab Yua and put her in the hood of my jacket. She squirms around for a bit before deciding that the space is warm and comfy and settles in. She should be safe there.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re going to seriously level her up?” Kyu asks, an eyebrow raised. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh. Not really,” I say. “Taking her to a boss would be. But so far, none of the enemies can see me while sneaking, and I kill them in one hit. Well….except for the Hunters. Shit. I’ll just stick to the early areas then. I mostly just want to see what happens if I level her up a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever,” Kyu says, losing interest. “Just don’t get her killed and fuck things up with Momo.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, it’ll be fine,” I assure her. I use [Dungeon Traversal] to enter the dungeon.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Killing the early Hollows is downright boring now that I’m both a higher level and I know them better. I use [Sneak], but even ‘sneaking’ I can still walk at a brisk pace without them noticing me, unless I get too close in front of them. So it’s a matter of activating [Sneak], which I can hold indefinitely with my current stats, and then stab them in the back of the neck. Sneak attack, backstab, and critical hit do many times the enemies health in damage. The experience isn’t very good though, for me at least. I didn’t gain a single skill level, much less a Rogue level. But Yua, even with her only getting a quarter of the XP, gets up to level 5.</p><p> </p><p><b>Yua<br/></b> <b>Level: 5(64%)<br/></b> <b>HP: 60 (1% per second)<br/></b> <b>MP: 60 (1% per second)<br/></b> <b>SP: 60 (1% per second)<br/></b> <b>CON: 6<br/></b> <b>STR: 6<br/></b> <b>DEX: 11<br/></b> <b>INT: 6<br/></b> <b>WIS: 6<br/></b> <b>CHA: 12<br/></b> <b>LUK: 14</b></p><p> </p><p>She was probably the strongest two month old normal cat to ever exist. Each of her stats rose by one for each level, except for DEX and CHA, which rose by two per level. From what I’ve managed to figure out, this puts her ahead of the curve of anyone without the gamer system. Though she also started behind due to most of her stats starting at 1 instead of 10. But that disadvantage would disappear soon at this rate.</p><p> </p><p>I consider grinding more. I’m pretty sure there are some later areas without any Hunters that are filled with Nazi Zombies which are just as easy, for me, to kill and offer much better experience and loot. But I decide against it. Mostly because I want to take some time to watch her to see if there’s a noticeable difference now that some of her stats are above 10, with the rest not that far behind.</p><p> </p><p>So I travel back into my room. But instead of doing anything interesting when I take her out of my hood and place her down, she just curls up where she is and goes back to sleep. Well. I guess she is a cat after all.</p><p> </p><p>I pop back into the dungeon alone and travel back to the safe room right before the boss. It was time to finish this dungeon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. DxD: Tutorial 04</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Made some changes to chapter 3<br/>-Changed [Lewd Scouter] to a non-leveled skill because leveling any observation skill like that is boring and it sucks<br/>-Edited the Ms. Nakano scene slightly to include Affection gain because it should have had that but I didn't think of it at the time.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I do one last check of my equipment. Two knives on my hips, rotten leather chest piece and boots, and two moderate health potions ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.</p><p> </p><p>I try to equip more knives but it only lets me equip two. Maybe if I get more sheathes or better armor or something I can hold more knives. Like a boot knife, or just a row of them on my chest. Yeah, that’d be cool.</p><p> </p><p>But fantasizing about better armor can wait. I’m as prepared as I can be for the boss of this dungeon. At least, unless I spend another night grinding. But the XP is starting to not be worth it already. I suppose it’s a tutorial dungeon so that’s the point, but still.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not too worried though. My combat knife does three times my DEX in damage, my enchanted knife does my DEX plus my INT in a mix of physical and fire damage, and I can simultaneously sneak attack for both for massive damage. There’s not an enemy in the whole dungeon I can’t overkill. The boss shouldn’t be a problem at all. </p><p> </p><p>I make sure to keep [Sneak] activated and make my way to the boss room. The door, as I’m not surprised to find, is a simple fog wall. Because why would the dungeon start being original now? I take a deep breath, double check my equipment again, and slowly step through. </p><p> </p><p>The first thing I do is scan the room for the boss. The room looks like an old dining hall or something of that type. The ceiling is high, there’s a fire pit with a spit over it on the left side of the room, though there’s only cold ashes now, and all around the room are the splinters of chairs, tables, plates, and tankards.</p><p> </p><p>And in the center of the room, amidst all the devastation, is the hulking form of the boss. A hulking form I recognize from my time spent playing Left 4 Dead.</p><p> </p><p><b>Tank<br/></b> <b>Race: Special Zombie<br/></b> <b>Level: 50<br/></b> <b>HP: 10000<br/></b> <b>MP: 20<br/></b> <b>SP: 3200<br/></b> <b>CON: 250<br/></b> <b>STR: 160<br/></b> <b>DEX: 23<br/></b> <b>INT: 2<br/></b> <b>WIS: 2<br/></b> <b>CHA: 1<br/></b> <b>LUK: 1</b></p><p> </p><p>So good news and bad news. Good news is that he boss doesn’t immediately aggro on me, so I still have stealth. The bad news is that I can’t one shot it. I can take out just over half of its health, assuming it doesn’t aggro as soon as I get close to it, but that’ll leave me with the other half of its HP to burn through without the aid of sneak attacks.</p><p> </p><p>I look behind me, and the fog wall is still there. I try to back up through it, but sure enough, it won’t let me through, so no retreating to grind until I can one shot this. </p><p> </p><p>I look through my inventory for something I can use. A vial of Bile, no. It only makes the zombies more frenzied and there were none here to turn against the Tank.. Three more knives, two iron and one steel, that all deal less damage than my main two. At best, I might be able to throw them for a bit of damage. </p><p> </p><p>The only other thing of use I have is the Onyx Dog Figurine. I’m not even sure if it can fight. The description makes it sound more like a mount than anything. But I guess I’ll find out. At the very least it might provide a distraction.</p><p> </p><p>I wish I had traps or bombs or poison or <em> something </em>. But I’ll have to make do with what I have. Slowly, I creep forward.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not exactly sure how [Sneak] works, but I’m pretty sure what it does is just reduce how noticeable I am. As it leveled up, I realized that one of the biggest effects is that it reduces the sound I make. At level 25, I could walk carefully but at a decent pace and make little to no noise.</p><p> </p><p>So if I walk slowly and carefully, I truly make no noise. I’m not sure if it does anything for how visible I am though, or if zombies just have really bad eyesight. I haven’t tried the skill outside of the dungeon yet. I make a mental note to try it at school tomorrow. Assuming I survive tonight.</p><p> </p><p>I slink around the edges of the room, making my way to the side opposite of where the Tank is facing, which is to the left of where I entered. It’s technically moving, but only so far as it seems to be breathing and occasionally shifting its weight. Otherwise it seems content to just stare at the wall.</p><p> </p><p>Only when I’m directly behind the Tank do I start creeping towards it. Each step is tense as I mentally prepare for it to suddenly turn on me, [Sneak] or no [Sneak]. My eyes constantly flick between it and the ground, making sure I don’t kick a piece of debris or step on something that would make noise.</p><p> </p><p>After what feels like ten minutes but was probably more like thirty seconds, I’m within striking distance. It’s then that I realize an issue with my plan. A critical hit. I’ve mostly been getting critical hits by going for the upper spine and brain. But that won’t work here. The Tank’s back is so covered in muscle and putrid skin that I don’t think my knife can even reach the spine.</p><p> </p><p>There’s only one spot that I can think of that can probably get a critical hit on, which is its head. The one that is so surrounded by muscles that it can’t even be seen from behind.</p><p> </p><p>I want to grumble in frustration but restrain myself. There’s no time for that right now. I need to come up with a plan.</p><p> </p><p>The head is more accessible from the front, but I can’t envision a way to not lose the stealth bonus by coming from the front. The sides are even more inaccessible than the back, with its massive shoulders and arms putting the head far away from the edges of its body.</p><p> </p><p>So if all sides are out, that only leaves above and below. Below is out for obvious reasons, which just leaves above. I look up, and spot a large iron chandelier suspended by a rope positioned in the center of the room right above the tank. Perfect.</p><p> </p><p>Now, the problem is getting up there. The Tank is maybe seven feet tall, give or take a few inches. The chandelier is at least another seven feet above its head. Far too high for me to jump. I haven’t tried jumping with my improved stats, but that distance feels like far too much for a STR that was still below 50.</p><p> </p><p>As I’m eyeing the distance, I spot something. The rope that suspends the chandelier runs across the ceiling. I track it across the ceiling to another hook, then down the wall where it’s tied to a post. Presumably it’s meant to be used to adjust the height of the chandelier. But what I see is an easy way to climb to the chandelier. </p><p> </p><p>Not seeing a better option, I enact my plan. Just as slowly as I creeped towards the Tank, I now creep away, heading back for the wall behind the boss. Once there I continue along the wall to the opposite side of the room from the fog entrance, which is where the rope is. </p><p> </p><p>I pause and look at the Tank. It hasn’t noticed me. Slowly, each motion done with painstaking caution, I grab the rope and start to pull myself up.</p><p> </p><p>If this was the me from before the Game, I would never be able to pull myself up a rope using only my arm strength. Now, with more than triple the STR of the average person….well it wasn’t easy but I was managing it. I could feel my muscles straining, and I could see my stamina bar slowly decreasing. I still had time, but I couldn’t afford to dally.</p><p> </p><p>I lift myself up the rope as fast as I can without making noise, but it still takes nearly a minute for me to reach the top. And it’s not over yet, because I still have to make my way across. My stamina seems to drain slower as I hang from the rope and make my way across the ceiling of the room, but not by as much as I would like.</p><p> </p><p>I make it to the chandelier with maybe a fifth of my stamina bar left. I softly step onto the sturdiest looking part of the chandelier and allow myself a silent gasp of relief. I stand there, the chandelier swaying slightly, waiting for my stamina to recover. </p><p> </p><p>Though with [Sneak] still active my stamina regenerates at a whopping 0.1 a second. Doing some quick math in my head, that would take more than forty minutes to recharge to full….no. Not happening. Ten minutes was probably my limit. So I do my best to remain utterly still, cross my fingers, and deactivate [Sneak].</p><p> </p><p>Eighty seconds. That’s how long I stood there, barely breathing, my eyes never leaving the Tank, waiting for it to move. But it doesn’t, and when my stamina finishes refilling, I immediately reactivate [Sneak]. </p><p> </p><p>I relax for a moment, but I realize that there’s no more procrastinating to be done. I have full stamina, the Tank is below me with it’s head an easy target. It’s time to start this fight.</p><p> </p><p>I angle myself, and pull out my knives. In my right hand the dark metal of the Ka-Bar knife is poised and ready, and in my left my enchanted iron dagger flickers with more than just candlelight. I take a deep breath before I plunge downwards and sink both knives into the massive undead’s skull.</p><p> </p><p><b>Sneak attack! Critical Hit!<br/></b> <b>3001 damage dealt</b></p><p><b>Sneak Attack! Critical Hit!<br/></b> <b>1757 damage dealt</b></p><p>
  <b>Tank inflicted with Burn</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The Tank roars in pain. I pull my knives out and stab it again, but without the multipliers I only deal 390 more damage. Before I can do it again, it throws me off of it’s shoulders. I hit the ground and slide into the wall before I get my feet under me. Which I do just in time to dodge a thrown piece of debris, one of the larger scraps of table left in the room. It shatters into even more pieces when it hits the wall, showering me with small bits of wood.</p><p> </p><p>I [Observe] the Tank while I move. It’s down to 4840 health. Now it’s at 4834 health. The burning seems to be dealing a decent amount of damage per second. I focus on dodging for now, running in a circle around the room. It continues to throw things at me for a short time, during which it’s health drops down to 4648. But then it stops going down, and the Tank runs out of nearby debris. </p><p> </p><p>It roars again and rushes at me and I’m forced to leap to the side to dodge. I scramble to get up, but by the time I get up it’s on top of me. I see its fist swinging at me and all I can do is brace myself.</p><p> </p><p>I’ve never been hit by a train before, but that’s all I can think of as I’m sent hurtling into the far wall. The breath is knocked out of me, and the only reason I land on my feet is that most of my weight is on the wall I was just thrown into.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>150 damage taken!</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Nearly half of my health in a single hit. I quickly pull out a health potion and down it, restoring the lost health. I do so just in time to dodge out of the way of the Tank rushing me again.</p><p> </p><p>This time I dodge more carefully, remaining close enough that can dash in to stab him again for another 390 damage. It’s still at over a third of its health though. I dodge another punch, stab him again, and then I’m forced to back off.</p><p> </p><p>It’s slow going, but I’m making progress. I just have to avoid getting hit again and I’m golden. I check its health again. 3868. It’s stamina is also getting low, it’s just below half. Maybe I can tire it out?</p><p> </p><p>I dash in for more attacks. I stab it again, but I’m too slow in backing off, and it backhands me, dealing 150 damage. I hesitate, but then curse and use my second and last potion, topping me off again. I can only afford to take one more of those hits. On the bright side, it’s burning again. I’m not sure what the chances are of that happening, as this is the first fight where it’s happened at all.</p><p> </p><p>I can’t keep this up. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the plan I come up with on the fly is certainly desperate. I reach into my inventory for the Onyx Dog Figurine and throw it out. In a blink, it grows to the size of a pony and launches itself at the tank. </p><p> </p><p>I run to one side of the room and wait for the two to move into the right position. Looking at the health of the tank, the figurine doesn’t seem to be doing any damage, but it is distracting the Tank. The tank is punching it while the figurine grapples the Tank in return. Cracks run through the figurines body, and I know that I won’t be getting it back. The two move around the room in their fight, and just as the burning stops, they’re in the right position.</p><p> </p><p>I whistle, and the figurine immediately breaks off from the Tank and runs for me. Pieces of it fall off, but it outpaces the monstrosity chasing it. I wait for the timing, and then cut the rope holding the chandelier up.</p><p> </p><p>The heavy metal chandelier crashes down directly on top of the Tank, forcing it into the ground. Not wasting a moment, I rush forward. It’s health is at 3268, and while my onyx figurine didn’t do much damage, it seems like it drained it’s stamina significantly, because it’s almost out.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, the Tank is struggling to get out from under the heavy chandelier. I don’t plan on giving it a chance. I lay into the prone monstrosity with my knives, stabbing it repeatedly. Just as it manages to start sliding off the chandelier crushing it, it bellows out in pain before slumping over, dead.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Boss Defeated!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Zombie Dungeon Cleared!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>More Dungeons Unlocked!</b>
</p><p> </p><p><br/>More windows appear, but I ignore them as I fall to the ground, slumping over as the tension seeps out of me, and I just laugh. The fight hadn’t lasted long, maybe two minutes. But it was far too close for comfort, especially after breezing through the rest of the dungeon.</p><p> </p><p>As I catch my breath, I look over to where I had called the figurine to. Sure enough, it's broken beyond repair, little more than a pile of onyx shards. I get to my feet and walk over to them. [Observe] confirms that they are just pieces of Onyx now. I sigh. I had only gotten to use it once, but it had saved me. I silently thank it and then grab the onyx. Maybe I could do something with it.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, I turn to all the notifications I got from defeating the boss.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Boss Killed, 15,000 XP gained</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Rogue Class is now Level 31</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Sneak] is now Level 30</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Sleight of Hand] is now Level 16</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Backstab] is now Level 25</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>New Rogue Skills</b>
</p><p><b>[Disguise](Passive) - Level 1(0%)<br/></b> <b>Helps the user disguise themselves</b></p><p><b>[Eavesdrop](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/></b> <b>By focusing, you can listen in to a conversation you can see or that is happening nearby.</b></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Perk rewarded for reaching DEX 100</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Dead Eye] - If you have time to aim a shot, you don’t miss. Ever.</b>
</p><p> </p><p><b>Loot Gained!<br/></b> <b>100k Yen<br/></b> <b>1 Gacha Token<br/></b> <b>Crafting Skill Token<br/></b> <b>Ring of Burn Protection</b></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Some very good level ups, two Rogue skills of questionable usefulness, a Perk that would be nice if I had a gun or a bow or something, cold hard cash, a gacha, whatever a crafting skill token was, and a ring that prevented burns.</p><p> </p><p>All in all a pretty good haul, but it still feels underwhelming. Then again, I haven’t used the gacha token yet. I use dungeon traversal to go back to my room.</p><p> </p><p>“Congrats on finishing the tutorial,” I hear Kyu say immediately. I look around and see her on my pillow, looking sleepy.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” I say.</p><p> </p><p>“I was, but the Game woke me up when you cleared the dungeon. Figured I might have to explain something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just one thing,” I assure her. “This Crafting Skill Token. What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>She rolls her eyes. “You always ask about shit that the name tells you everything you need to know. Use it, and you get a free crafting skill. Yes you get to choose. Seriously, you could’ve just used it and it would be apparent.”</p><p> </p><p>I raise my hands in surrender. “Alright alright. Geez. Just didn’t wanna fuck it up somehow and waste it or something. I’ll use that in a second. But first things first. Wanna see me roll the gacha before you go back to sleep?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, you got something pretty nice last time. Maybe you’ll get lucky twice in a row.”</p><p> </p><p>I feel like I had been pretty lucky twice in a row already, with the Hornet Ring being just as useful as [Erotic Pierrot], but whatever. I open my inventory and use the gacha token.</p><p> </p><p><b>Weighted Coin<br/></b> <b>A coin that can look like any coin that lands on whatever side the owner(not the flipper) wants it to. Decision must be made before it hits the ground.</b></p><p> </p><p>A bit underwhelming compared to my last two items, but I’m sure it’ll definitely be very useful at least once. Being able to appear fair but cheat a coin flip can be useful. Kyu loses interest when she sees what I got. I pull it out of my inventory, changing it’s form from Yen coins to a quarter to a doubloon, and any other coin I can think of. A question occurs to me.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Kyu, how come the gacha puts stuff in my inventory but stuff from the store needs to be delivered?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because the gacha is a core part of the Game, while the store is run by The Mailman.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, what? That’s <em> his </em> store?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yep! He’s really just the delivery person. That stuff you bought? It’s from other Gamers who put it up on the store to sell. The Mailman owns the store and makes sure everything gets delivered. He managed to get partial integration into the Game somehow, but it’s more like an add-on that he manages than a core part of the system.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can just do that? Change the Game like that? For everyone?”</p><p> </p><p>She waves her hand in a so-so manner. “The relatively few Gamers who get strong enough usually do so. How widespread their changes are vary though. There’s a ton of different offshoots of the Game too. The Mailman is only connected to ones relatively similar to the one I’ve got you attached to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are all Gamers that strong that...weird?”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean, normally yeah. Or they’re terrifying. Or both. Usually both.”</p><p> </p><p>Right. That was officially enough for me tonight. “Putting that topic aside, I’m going to pick a crafting skill now.” I make good on my word and pull out the token and use it.</p><p> </p><p><b>Crafting Skill Token used<br/></b> <b>Please pick a crafting skill</b></p><p><b>Alchemy<br/></b> <b>Blacksmithing<br/></b> <b>Construction<br/></b> <b>Cooking<br/></b> <b>Fletching<br/></b> <b>Scribing<br/></b> <b>Tailoring</b></p><p> </p><p>“Is this it?” I ask out loud, thinking that there’d be more. And there should be. No enchanting, nothing advanced. “Don’t tell me I have to unlock more?”</p><p> </p><p>“Finally, he learns,” Kyu says in mocking exasperation. “Yep, you do. Though unlocking more is easier than unlocking new classes or whatever. You just have to meet certain requirements, usually stat or skill ones. Like, Alchemy is on there because you have a skill that uses mana. Blacksmithing is on there because your STR is above 25, though you’d have to be a pretty new Gamer to not have at least that much. At base stats and with no skills you’d pretty much only have Cooking, Scribing, and Tailoring.”</p><p> </p><p>“What about enchanting?” </p><p> </p><p>“You need a Mage class. And an INT above 50, but you’re already good there. Some of the more advanced ones also need other crafting skills. Like if you wanna build automatons, you’ll need Blacksmithing and Enchanting at decent levels.”</p><p> </p><p>I sigh. Okay, well whatever. I already knew which one I wanted anyways. I pick Alchemy from the list, and the skill appears on my skill list.</p><p> </p><p><b>[Alchemy](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/></b> <b>Mix ingredients and mana in order to create mystical potions and materials. Limited to two ingredients.</b></p><p> </p><p>The health potions during the boss right saved my life, but I only had the two of them, and I never wanted to run out again. Plus, there are plenty of other useful things I can make with it, and I need something to use up the crafting materials that are building up in my inventory. The fact that I can make more than just potions is interesting, but something that can be explored later.</p><p> </p><p>I activate the [Alchemy] Skill, but I get the mental equivalent of an error message. Apparently I need to actually prepare the ingredients, put them in water, and then use the skill on that if I wanted to make a potion. Which meant I needed vials and something to crush the ingredients down. Fine, whatever. I open up the Hunie Store and see what it has. I could buy the stuff I need from a normal store, but it was currently 1am at night, and I wanted to spend the rest of the night grinding out this skill. </p><p> </p><p>I don’t have a ton of Hunie left, but I have just enough for the “Newbie Alchemist Kit”. One hundred standard sized flat bottomed vials, a mortar and pestle that claimed to be unbreakable by anyone with an effective STR under 1000, a beaker for mixing ingredients, and a belt pouch that held 10 potions. All in all, it’s a pretty good deal. I buy it immediately.</p><p> </p><p>A few moments later, there’s a knock on my door. Sure enough, The Mailman is there with my stuff.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks. I really appreciate how fast your service is,” I say. </p><p> </p><p>“Not a problem mate, it’s part of the job.” He holds out the stone slab and I put my thumb on it again, allowing it to confirm I was me.</p><p> </p><p>“How much of an overhead do you get on this stuff?”</p><p> </p><p>He grins. “Well, why don’t you start selling and find out? Put that alchemy set to good use, sell whatever you make while leveling but don’t need. Or hoard it all. Most Gamers do that.” He hands me the package.</p><p> </p><p>“How would I do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Check the store, however you do that. I just added you to the potential seller list, the option should be there now.” He tipped his hat. “Now I best be off, got more deliveries to make.” With those words he disappears from sight.</p><p> </p><p>I check my phone, and sure enough, I can put stuff up for sale. Looks like I just need to offer whatever I’m selling, package it up, and place it on my doorstep for pickup. There’s also an option for selling in bulk, in which case it seems I need to talk to a ‘representative’ directly in order to set up a process for regular pickups, or pickups up to a certain quantity.</p><p> </p><p>Well, I don’t plan on selling anything yet, so I put my phone away. Instead, tonight, I’m going to grind out some Alchemy levels.</p><p> </p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>I definitely got my Hunie’s worth in just this mortar and pestle, because 38 STR or no, human bone should <em> not </em> be this easy to grind into dust. It should also disturb me more but honestly the bones that drop from zombies don’t actually look like any specific human bone and just look like high quality halloween decorations. Each one grinds up into about a cup of bone dust. And I ground up a <em> lot </em> of bones.</p><p> </p><p>100 potions and poisons sit on the table in front of me.</p><p> </p><p><b>(35) Minor Health Potion<br/></b> <b>Heals 25% of health</b></p><p><b>(23) Minor XP Potion<br/></b> <b>Increases XP gain by 5% for 1 hour</b></p><p><b>(1) Minor Protection Potion<br/></b> <b>Reduces damage received by 10%</b></p><p><b>(1) Minor Metal Detection Potion<br/></b> <b>Gives imbiber ability to sense metal in a 25m range for 1 hour</b></p><p><b>(31) Minor Poison<br/></b> <strong>Deals INT/10 damage per second for 60 seconds</strong></p><p>
  <b>(4) Minor Paralysis Poison<br/></b>
  <b>Has a 25% chance of paralyzing the target for INT seconds</b>
</p><p><b>(4) Minor Decay Poison<br/></b> <b>Reduces healing rate by 25% for INT seconds</b></p><p> </p><p>All in all, I was pretty satisfied. My Alchemy skill had leveled up to 21, though the description hadn’t changed at all, and I could still only make potions with 2 ingredients, and all my potions were Minor ones. I’m not sure if I need more ingredients, better ingredients, or what to make better potions. But I’ll figure it out eventually.</p><p> </p><p>There are some very nice potions that I wanted to make more of, but between prioritizing making as many healing potions as I could and the rarity of the ingredients that went into the better potions, I was only able to get a few of some type.</p><p> </p><p>The healing potions actually required me to go out to a 24/7 convenience store, after I realized that ground up bone and any sort of food, like the chicken skewers I bought the other day, was the only way I could make health potions. I bought a bunch of pre prepared food for pretty cheap, though I did get some weird looks at the cash register. </p><p> </p><p>I discovered a few more things about the alchemy skill as well. Like each potion requires exactly 100 mana. Thankfully I regenerate that in just under seven seconds, so that was no problem at all. But also, if you try to mix ingredients that don’t make a potion, nothing happens. No mana used, no potion created, the ingredients are still good to use. Though picking scraps of gold out of bone dust infused water was annoying, and a little gross.</p><p> </p><p>I consider draining some of them out, or selling them so I can buy more vials, but in the end I decide not to. With maybe the exception of the Metal Detection potion, which used scrap iron and scrap gold, I could see all of them being useful. Though I’d prefer stronger forms of them.</p><p> </p><p>Especially the Decay Poison. If I could get one of those at 100% effectiveness it would be an effective trump card against a Phenex.</p><p> </p><p>Phenex, huh? The Rating Game between Riser Phenex and Rias Gremory was pretty early in the plot if I remember right. But I’m still in the days before the plot, and I’m not sure how far away it is. Issei- No, Atsuko is still human, so the weekend I arrived was not the weekend of her date with Raynere in disguise...would that even happen still?</p><p> </p><p>Let’s say it doesn’t. How does that change things? Well, it doesn’t I guess, assuming that Rias knows that Atsuko has the Boosted Gear. She’ll still try to recruit her, but will have to do it another way. But that might delay things, which means Asia might end up dying, and Rias might not have the Red Dragon Emperor in her Rating Game against Riser.</p><p> </p><p>Which brings me to an important question. What did I want to do? I had vague goals of power and women, but no plan to get them. Did I want to ally with one of the powers? Or all of them? Did I want canon to stay on track, or knock it off the rails?</p><p> </p><p>Ugh, I can’t decide. There are pros and cons to all sides. Short term though, I think I want to steal Asia. Cute and devoted nun girl? Yes please.</p><p> </p><p>Asia arrives shortly after canon starts. If we’re close to the start of canon, then the Fallen should already be here in Kuoh, holed up in the abandoned church. Wherever that was. Perhaps if I did a bit of spying there, I’ll be able to find out when and how she’ll be arriving, and intercept her.</p><p> </p><p>There we go. Plan made. Everything else I’ll figure out later. I look at the time. It’s four in the morning, a few hours before I have to go to school. I could go back in the dungeon, farm some crafting materials, or check out one of the new ones. But honestly I’m just not in the mood.</p><p> </p><p>I take a look at my skill list. Some of them are still at level 1. [Pickpocket] is too risky to train without the right environment. I’ll have to figure something out for that. [Disguise] I need makeup or something to properly level it up. [Eavesdrop] I can also level up at school. I suspect I actually need to listen to someone for it to count. I activate it for a few moments. I don’t hear anything, and I don’t gain a single point of experience for it.</p><p> </p><p>So nothing I can really grind here in my bedroom right now. Screw it, I’m just going to sleep. I don’t need to anymore, but honestly I feel like I could use it anyways. I set an alarm on my phone, strip down to just my underwear, and climb under the covers.</p><p> </p><p>I’m asleep within moments, all the thoughts of the previous day gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So fun fact, I fucked up my damage calcs the first time I wrote the boss fight and had to rewrite it all to make it work.I like what I ended up with but it was super annoying. Future fights will NOT include hard numbers because it was a pain to write. I only included it here to try to imbue the scene with that same tension you get from a dark souls boss fight but I don't know that it worked out super well.</p><p>Next chapter will focus on more social stuff.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. DxD: Tutorial 05</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Surprise, early chapter! I was going to keep one chapter in my pocket because I tend to go back and tweak the previous chapter when I'm writing a new one, but I've gotten more feedback than I thought I would and it's been helpful and I'd rather the results of that feedback show up sooner and not be delayed by the fact that there's another chapter written already.</p><p>This might delay the next chapter a bit though. I usually have a bit less time than usual to write on weekends. But I'll work on it when I can and upload it as soon as it's done.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><hr/><p>I wake up to the feeling of something soft and fuzzy pushing against my face. My eyes crack open to see a gray bit of fuzz staring me in the face. What? I force myself awake and open my eyes more.</p><p>Yua is sitting on my chest, paw extended and resting on my cheek, staring right at me.</p><p>I blink. "Uhh. Good morning Yua." She meows at me with a squeaky little voice. I'm not sure if that means she's smarter or not though, because she was pretty talkative even before I leveled her up. "Did you need something?" She moves her paw from my cheek to my lips. "Are you hungry?" She meows again. "Alright then. Get off me and I'll get you some food." Immediately she hops off my chest onto the bed, then down to the floor, and races into the kitchen where her food bowl is.</p><p>Okay, not definitive evidence, but she's almost certainly a bit smarter now. She seems to understand me at least. That or she's responding in ways that seem to answer my questions by coincidence. Which is unlikely, but not impossible.</p><p>I throw the covers off of me and get out of bed. Kyu is curled up next to the pillow, still sleeping. I don't bother waking her up, and instead I follow Yua to the kitchen.</p><p>It's only a little bit before my alarm would have gone off anyways, so since I indulged in sleep, I might as well indulge in some breakfast. I pour some vet recommended kitten food into Yua's food bowl, which is on the kitchen table, and then pour a bowl of cereal for myself.</p><p>I snap a picture of Yua eating next to me and send it to Momo with a caption. <em>The little lady decided breakfast should be before the time I set my alarm for.</em></p><p>I finish breakfast and start getting ready for the day. Right before I hop in the shower, I get a text, but it's not a reply from Momo like I was expecting. I open it up and see a picture from Aika. It's a mirror selfie, and she's nude, but she's holding her towel in a way that teases but leaves her technically covered. Her expression is smug and flirty.</p><p>Aika really is the best. <em>You sure know how to wake a guy up</em>. She sends back just a winking emoticon. I save the picture and then I finish getting ready for school.</p><p>Before I leave I find Yua. She's finished eating and is sitting on the kitchen table. Since she's smart enough to understand me now, I figure I should say goodbye to her. I scratch her behind her ears.</p><p>"I have to go now, but you be good for Aunty Kyu, okay? I'll be back later." She meows. I hope that's a yes. I'm definitely going to have to level her up some more tonight. Waving goodbye I head to school.</p><p>On my way to school I use [Sneak]. I don't try to hide any more than that though, so a few people definitely see me. But it feels like less people notice me than they did yesterday. Or maybe I just became less of a strange sight. Either way, [Sneak] is gaining XP for it, so I keep it up. I can't keep it up infinitely anymore since it has reached level 30, but my stamina is only going down by 0.2 a second, which means I can keep it activated for more than half an hour, three times the time it took to walk to school.</p><p>Nearing the school, I start getting more and more XP as I start walking down routes filled with other Kuoh Academy students. As we're approaching the school I find myself walking slightly behind a blond boy, which is only noteworthy because there's not a lot of blonde students here.</p><p>Though he becomes distinctly more noteworthy when he looks off to the side at something, sees me in his peripheral vision walking shortly behind him, and leaps away, hand extended outwards and facing me.</p><p>I stop dead, confused. What the fuck is he freaking out over? I use [Observe]</p><p><strong>Kiba Yuuto<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 75<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3390<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1170<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4230<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 113<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 141<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 176<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 39<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 23<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 85<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 23</strong></p><p>Oh, right. Kiba. If I'm being honest, I completely forgot he existed. I certainly didn't remember him when I was genderbending the other males in the two devil peerages. Still, that's probably fine. I think he only gains the romantic interest of Sona's Queen, Tsubaki. I can probably swoop in before that happens.</p><p>I guess I accidentally spooked him? He didn't notice me so close under [Sneak], and when he noticed me he freaked out? I stare at him in confusion and try to act like I'm not sure what to do about the weirdo in front of me. It's not a hard act.</p><p>After a moment he seems to realize what happened and relaxes. His expression becomes embarrassed. "Sorry about that," he said. "I didn't realize someone was behind me."</p><p>I shrug to play it off. "No skin off my back. I should probably be the one apologizing. I've been told I'm a quiet walker before, and this isn't the first time I've spooked someone. A friend once told me they were going to put a bell on me, like a cat."</p><p>Kiba, being the friendly guy he is, laughs. "I can relate to that feeling, I would've appreciated it." We both start walking again. "So you're the new transfer student? Axton?"</p><p>"Word sure does spread fast," I say. "Yeah, just transferred in yesterday. And you are?"</p><p>"Oh, sorry about that. I'm Yuuto Kiba, Second Year, part of the Occult Research Club."</p><p>"There's a club like that here? Huh. I wouldn't have thought a nice school like this would approve of a club like that."</p><p>"The administrators of the school have a fondness for the supernatural," he explains. Yeah, I bet they do. We chat a bit more, Kiba explaining some of the things they supposedly do as part of the ORC, and we talk about clubs in general and if I'll be joining any. When we get to school we have to go different ways to get to our classes and split apart.</p><p>
  <b>+10 Affection with Yuuto Kiba</b>
  <b></b>
</p><p>Affection even with guys huh? I was wondering how the Game was going to handle that. Speaking of the Game, even while talking I kept Sneak active, I should see how it’s doing.</p><p>
  <strong>[Sneak] - Level 32(92%)<br/>Reduces visibility and sound created by movement, allowing for stealthy traversal. 4SP/s.</strong>
</p><p>Not bad. Not a huge gain, but two free levels just from walking to school is pretty good. Though that rate of growth will drop rapidly I'm sure. Level scaling sucks.</p><p>Putting it out of my mind, I enter the classroom. I see Aika sitting on Atsuko's desk, talking to her. She looks up as I enter and smiles when she sees me. I smile back and sit down. She rotates on top of Atsuko's desk so she's facing me, flashing me in the process.</p><p>"Hey Axton," she says. "I didn't get a chance to introduce you yesterday, but this is my friend Atsuko Hyoudou."</p><p>Atsuko turns around to face me. "Hi Axton, it's nice to meet you," she greets me with a friendly smile.</p><p>"You'll have to watch out for her," Aika says, a smug grin on her face. "She's a bit of a pervert. Though you don't have any boobs so you'll probably be fine."</p><p>Atsuko, a horrified look on her face, tries to shut up Aika, but Aika just hops off the desk and moves away, laughing. She then sheepishly turns to me. "I'm not a pervert. Aika's just teasing me."</p><p>"Nah, she's obsessed with boobs. I think it's because hers are small and she's jealous," Aika flatly denies Atsuko's denials.</p><p>"But all boobs are great no matter their size," I counter, though hers were indeed small. Probably around Sona's size.</p><p>
  <strong>+12 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>Atsuko points at me excitedly. "See? He gets it! Size doesn't matter when it comes to boobs because they're all beautiful!" She freezes. "Ah, I mean. Uhh."</p><p>I have that skill I got from Aika that I've been wanting to try, and this seems like a good opportunity for it. I use [Lewd Scouter] on Atsuko.</p><p>
  <strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>Arousal: Low<br/>Perversion: Moderate<br/>Affection: 12<br/>Orientation: Bisexual(closeted)<br/>Fetishes: Boobs</strong>
</p><p>"I see what you mean Aika," I say, grinning. I guess even as a girl, her love of boobs was a universal constant.</p><p>"Nooooo," she wails, slumping over. "Aika I just met him. Why did you have to ruin his first impression of me?"</p><p>I wave it off. "No no, it's fine. I don't think less of you. In fact, I respect your earnest enthusiasm. I mean, I'm more of a leg guy myself, but tits are pretty good."</p><p>She glares at me, pouting. "That's sacrilege! Boobs are best, nothing beats them."</p><p>I shrug. "I guess we just have different tastes."</p><p>"Whatever. You're a boy," she dismisses me and turns around. "What do you know about the good things about a woman's body?"</p><p>I raise my eyebrow and exchange a knowing look with Aika, who smirks. Out of curiosity, I use [Lewd Scouter] on her as well.</p><p>
  <strong>Aika Kiryu<br/>Arousal: Moderate<br/>Perversion: High<br/>Affection: 100<br/>Orientation: Bicurious(Straight orientation changed by goal of gathering harem for you)<br/>Fetishes: Big cocks, deepthroat, rough sex, group sex, harems</strong>
</p><p>Interesting. The fetishes aren't a surprise, nor is anything else except for the fact that I influenced her sexual orientation. I wonder if that will happen to every girl that reaches max affection?</p><p>The teacher walks in then, and classes officially get started for the day.</p><p>…</p><p>The morning classes pass by in a bit of a blur. I only half pay attention to the lessons, which is more than enough. For the entirety of the classes I instead use [Eavesdrop]. At first, I didn't really hear anything, except maybe I could hear the breathing of Aika and the person sitting in front of me a bit louder. But the skill levels up to level five within a minute, and for every level it gains, it also gains a meter in range.</p><p>At five meters the skill covers almost a fifth of the classroom, and I start hearing things. Mostly students mumbling to themselves, but also a few whispers passed between students. I don't hear anything interesting. The ones talking to themselves were either complaining about something or thinking through a problem out loud. The whispers are mostly students asking for clarifications from their neighbors. Damn, too many good kids actually paying attention to class.</p><p>Within ten minutes I can hear the entire classroom, including the teacher. I hear everyone's voice perfectly clearly no matter what volume they speak at or how far away they are. And, somehow, they don't all turn into a jumbled mess. I can't pay attention to each and every one of them at the same time, but they are all as equally easy to hear.</p><p>For a while, my range seems to stop growing, and I stop hearing new voices. But when I check the skill description, the range is still going up. Halfway through morning classes I start being able to hear other classes. Checking the skill description and making some guesses about the buildings layout, I come to the conclusion that the range is cut down if it goes through walls. Meaning if I can hear thirty meters out, but there's a wall twenty meters away, I can only hear about five meters past the wall. Assuming that it drops by half, which I <em>think</em> is the case. Something around there.</p><p>Still, by lunchtime I've made a new record in skill leveling speed, and [Eavesdrop] is now at level 32, matching [Sneak].</p><p>Before Aika and I can sneak off somewhere during lunch, Atsuko decides to drag us to the cafeteria, seeing as none of us brought lunches. We get some rather nice lunches, thanks Kuoh Academy, and sit down at a table. Aika and Atsuko sit down on one side, and I sit on the other.</p><p>We talk while eating, but it's pretty mundane stuff. Atsuko mostly asks me about myself and I explain my fake backstory. Partway through the meal I feel something on my crotch. I glance down to see a sock covered foot, rubbing me. I look at Aika, who's grinning. Atsuko keeps talking, unaware of what's happening.</p><p>The rest of lunch is spent with Aika rubbing my erection with her foot while I try to act like nothing is happening. Aika pushing against me just a little more firmly whenever I talk makes it difficult, but Atusko doesn't seem to notice anything.</p><p>After lunch is back to class, which means more [Eavesdrop] grinding. It slows down a bit because it's cost increases every ten levels like [Sneak] and I can't keep it up indefinitely anymore, but I still make some good progress. I stop training [Eavesdrop] for Japanese class though, where I continue using [Erotic Pierrot] to arouse Ms. Nakano anytime she looks at me. It's only my second day doing this and I'm already getting impatient. But fortunately today I have [Lewd Scouter] to give me an idea of how well it's working.</p><p>
  <strong>Mio Nakano<br/>Arousal: Moderate<br/>Perversion: Moderate<br/>Affection: 20<br/>Orientation: Straight<br/>Fetishes: Femdom, edging, rope play</strong>
</p><p>Her arousal was 'low' before I started messing with her, so even if it wasn't very specific, I could clearly see I was having an effect on her. I also gained another five Affection at the start of class, though none since then. I can probably only get her Affection so high just by making her think she finds me attractive but never interacting with her.</p><p>But Japanese class is over far too soon, and soon after, so is school. Kyu shows up as classes end but just tags along silently. I glance at Aika, trying to ask her through body language if she wants to come over to my place again. She seems to get it, because she thinks about it for a moment and then grins. Before I can figure out what that means she turns away.</p><p>"Hey Atsuko," she calls out. The girl in question turns to her, head tilted slightly. "Since Axton's new in town but was busy yesterday, I was thinking I could show him around town a little bit today. You want to come with? He'll treat us to dinner."</p><p>I raise my eyebrow at her at the assumption, but don't challenge it. I have plenty of money, especially after defeating the Tank, so that's fine with me.</p><p>Atsuko thinks about it for a second. "Sure, that sounds fun." We finish getting our stuff together and head out of school.</p><p>Kyu follows along. "Ooh, a date with two girls huh? You sure are bold," she teases. I roll my eyes a little, but it does make me wonder. Is that what Aika is doing? Last night she professed her interest in getting me more girls, does she plan on starting with Atsuko?</p><p>I make eye contact with Aika and raise an eyebrow. She winks back before turning her attention back to Atsuko. They start talking about the places they should bring me to, and I just nod and agree with whatever they suggest. Before long we end up in the plaza I visited on my first day here.</p><p>I saw most of the plaza the day Kyu gave me the quest to get a phone number, but I was paying more attention to the people than the stores at the time. The two girls point out the more popular spots as we go to them or pass by them. We spend some time playing games in an arcade, we pass by a movie theater, and they make sure to point out every good place to eat and buy snacks from. It's honestly a nice evening.</p><p>As we pass by a game store, the best place in town to get new games according to Atsuko, Aika sees a store and drags the both of us to it. When we enter I look around to see racks and racks of fashionable womens clothing.</p><p>"Uhh, Aika? I don't think Axton really cares about clothes shopping," Atsuko points out in a questioning tone. "And neither do I really."</p><p>"Maybe," she replies. "But I figured that since summer is coming up in a couple months, we should take advantage of having Axton here and pick out swimsuits." She heads deeper into the store, still dragging us by the arms.</p><p>Atsuko blushes lightly. "I don't see how him being here means we should pick out swimsuits," she protests. "In fact, shouldn't it be the opposite?"</p><p>Aika just shakes her head and sighs in a disappointed fashion. "No no no. We need a guy's perspective on how they look on us. They focus on different things then us girls."</p><p>Atsuko still looks hesitant. "I don't know Aika, we did just meet Axton and-"</p><p>"If you agree we can share a changing room," Aika interrupts.</p><p>"Come on Aika, we have to try on a bunch of swimsuits!" Atsuko is the one dragging Aika this time as she storms for the swimsuit section. Aika flashes me a thumbs up as they go.</p><p>Kyu laughs at the antics. "Man, that's one simple girl huh?"</p><p>I walk over to near the changing room and find a seat while I wait for the girls. "She's absolutely obsessed with boobs."</p><p>"Hmm. I can get behind that. Boobs are pretty great." Kyu lifts up her tiny breasts in emphasis. At least, tiny relative to me. They're not that small compared to her overall size. Speaking of which.</p><p>"Aren't you a little bigger now?" I ask her. She's looking closer to ten inches than the six she was when we first arrived in this world.</p><p>"Yep! By the time you max out your Rogue class I should be back to full size." She smirks. "But don't be sad. I can shrink back down in size whenever you want." She winks and visibly shrinks back down to six inches tall.</p><p>I'm about to reply when Aika and Atsuko come back with an armful of swimsuits. Kyu grows back to her new size and I wave to show the girls where I'm sitting. Atsuko doesn't even notice me, instead making a beeline for the changing room. Aika gives me a thumbs up before following her in.</p><p>"So you sleep with Aika. Somehow, she finds the idea of building you a harem hot. So the very next day she bribes her friend with some nudity in order to give you a swimsuit show?" Kyu whistles. "I feel like me and Aika would be best friends if I revealed myself to her."</p><p>The thought sends a shiver up my spine, one that's equal parts terrified and aroused.</p><p>Thoughts of the powers of the two combined aside, I was feeling pretty appreciative of Aika's plan. Especially since I could make it more effective then she realized.</p><p>I hear the muffled sounds of speaking from the fitting room as well as a lot of movement. I spend a moment imagining what they're doing in there. Is Atsuko getting handsy, or just looking? And how much is Aika allowing, or encouraging? I could probably [Sneak] and find out for myself, but I feel my skill level is still a little too low for something like that. [Sneak] doesn't seem to offer me much in the way of visibility reduction, judging by Kiba noticing me as soon as he turned his head this morning, which would make it difficult to sneak over there and peek in without getting noticed.</p><p>Kyu doesn't share my worries though and doesn't hesitate to zip into the changing room as well. She's such a voyeur. I'm jealous.</p><p>But soon enough they both came out for me to judge. They are both wearing somewhat modest one piece suits. Not school suits, these don't cover as much. They show just a bit of cleavage and the sides are open and showing skin.</p><p>"So, first swim suit, what do you think?" Aika asks while posing proudly.</p><p>I make a show of looking them both over. When I'm looking at Atsuko, I use [Erotic Pierrot] on her to very lightly push her arousal up. I don't want to go too fast on it, or she might get too uncomfortable and cut things short. And we're only on the first swimsuit, there was no need to rush. She blushes lightly as I look at her, but if it's from the effects of my skill, or just a boy looking at her in a swimsuit, I can't tell.</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>Either way, she seems to like it.</p><p>"Pretty good," I finally conclude. "They accentuate your curves while still being modest. Perfect for when you want to look cute but you can't show off too much skin."</p><p>"Good answer," Aika says, nodding. "And you're absolutely right. We need to show off more skin. Come on Atsuko."</p><p>"No wait, that's not what he said at all!" the other girl protests as she's dragged back into the changing room.</p><p>That scene repeats a few more times. The girls go in, they change, and they come out with swimsuits that show just a bit more skin than the last one. I look them over, tweak Atsuko's arousal, and tell them my thoughts on the swimsuits. I don't gain any more affection from Atsuko though, despite ramping up the amount of arousal just a little bit more each time. [Lewd Scouter] shows her at "Moderate" arousal now, but that also isn't going any higher.</p><p>It takes them a bit longer to come out with the fifth swimsuit, but when they do, I see why. They are by far the sexiest ones they've put on yet. Atsuko looks embarrassed, and I can tell even Aika is a little nervous, though she masks it fairly well.</p><p>They're not micro bikinis. I don't think this store sells something like that, and the girls definitely aren't brave enough to wear something like that in such a public setting. But they definitely toe the line of public indecency.</p><p>The bottoms are small triangles of cloth covering up just the space between their legs that quickly taper off into strings that go around their hips that are tied on the side. The tops are strapless and are essentially just a strip of cloth that covers most of their breasts, though it leaves a bit of top and bottom exposed. Enough to tease, but not so much that they're inappropriate.</p><p>Aika does a slow spin and I see the tops are tightened in the back with strings that lace into each side like a corset. And the backs of the bottoms are little better than g-strings.</p><p>"That's uhh," I clear my throat. "Those are extremely good. Very sexy." I was honestly a little caught off guard. Though not enough to forget to use [Erotic Pierrot] on Atsuko, whose face is very red.</p><p>Aika laughs and puts her arm around Atsuko's shoulder. Atsuko moves to push Aika's arm off, but something goes wrong, because immediately her top slips downwards, apparently not tightened enough around her smaller chest.</p><p>All three of us freeze as Atsuko's boobs are put on full display for us all to see. She's definitely not flat, and her boobs are small, but they're also cute and perky. I note that her nipples are pretty hard as well. I'm probably to blame for that one.</p><p>Not one to miss a chance like this, I instantly make sure to boost her arousal. Though in my haste I accidently ramp it up a bit harder than I intend to.</p><p>
  <strong>+12 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>In contrast with that message, Atsuko blushes so hard her ears turn pink, and she turns and rushes into the changing room again.</p><p>"I think that's enough of that for today," I say. Aika nods and agrees. Before she goes back into the changing room as well I stop her. "Out of curiosity, did you set up that wardrobe malfunction?"</p><p>"Ooh, that would've been a good idea," she replies. "But nope, that was all natural. I offered to tie the back for her, but she insisted on doing it herself."</p><p>I shrug. "Alright. Go make sure she's not too embarrassed. Tell her that it's fine and I thought her boobs were very cute. Or whatever she needs to hear so she doesn't avoid me."</p><p>"Yes, <em>master</em>," she replies with a wink. She makes sure to sway her hips extra on her way back to the changing room.</p><p>After a minute I get a notification for another six Affection with Atsuko, so whatever Aika ended up saying apparently worked.</p><p>They come out a few minutes later. Atsuko isn't looking at me, but otherwise seems calmed down. The girls go to the front to purchase their clothes, each of them getting two of the swimsuits they showed me. I note with interest that they both also get the skimpy one.</p><p>After that I offer to buy them dinner, and we head into a family restaurant. The atmosphere is a little awkward at first, but Aika skillfully eases the group into conversation, and before long the three of us are chatting normally.</p><p>I use [Lewd Scouter] on both of them. Aika is up to highly aroused, not that surprising. Though she's not playing with me under the table again, which <em>is </em>a little surprising. What's more surprising though is Atsuko's information.</p><p>
  <strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>Arousal: High<br/>Perversion: Moderate<br/>Affection: 36<br/>Orientation: Bisexual(closeted)<br/>Fetishes: Boobs, Exhibitionism</strong>
</p><p>Did I accidentally give her a new fetish by using [Erotic Pierrot]?</p><p>...Oops?</p><p>Oh well. Something to worry about another day. Our food arrives and we eat it. Afterwards we stick around and get some homework done. It's actually sort of nice just to relax a bit by acting like a normal student. Though another part of me is itching to hop back into the Dungeon and keep leveling. I'm still not satisfied with my strength, and I'm still not stealthy enough to sneak past the Devils or the Fallen here in Kuoh, much less any of the others that will be here soon.</p><p>Half an hour later we decide to call it a night. The sun has just set and both of the girls are expected home soon.</p><p>"Thanks for showing me around girls," I tell them before we split up. "I had a lot of fun."</p><p>"Oh we had a lot of fun too, didn't we Atsuko?" Aika replies while throwing an arm over the girl's shoulders. "Especially trying on the swim suits."</p><p>Atsuko blushes a little but otherwise ignores Aika's teasing. "Certain incidents aside, it was fun. And thanks for helping me with my homework, and for dinner."</p><p>"It was the least I could do," I say, waving it off.</p><p>"Well, my home is that way," she says, pointing in a direction. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at school!" Me and Aika wave her off and head off in another direction.</p><p>"I don't suppose you have time to come over?" I ask.</p><p>Aika shakes her head. "Sorry. I'd love to, but I'm already out later than my mother wants. I don't have the time." She looks around, and then pulls me into a secluded spot. "But I've got enough time for this."</p><p>She pushes against me and kisses me, her soft lips interlocking with mine. I feel her tongue slips past my lips and soon we're making out. Before it can get too heated though, she pulls away and winks at me. "I'll be thinking of you tonight."</p><p>With that she turns around and heads home. I feel a weight settle on top of my head and hear Kyu's voice. "She's a lot of fun."</p><p>"Yeah," I agree. "She keeps surprising me too, somehow. Like I know she's a pervert and I've maxed out her affection but still." I start walking home. I activate [Sneak] for just a bit of leveling, because there's no reason not to and it was pretty close to the next level. "So how was Yua while I was at school?"</p><p>"Kind of freaky actually. Like, she didn't do anything weird, but she's definitely a lot smarter now. She can't talk but she's pretty decent at responding to you anyways. It's kinda uncanny when a kitten that small nods when you ask it a question."</p><p>"I'm going to need to find a way for her to properly communicate," I muse. "With me at least. Other people would be nice as well but not a priority. You know of any good ways to do that?"</p><p>"Hmm," Kyu thinks. "I can think of four ways. First, turn her into a cat girl."</p><p>"How would I even do that?" I ask. "Just level her up?"</p><p>"Uhh. No idea. There's probably some items or something that can do it."</p><p>"So not viable in the short term. Next?"</p><p>"Make her your familiar, which will allow her to talk into your mind directly. Also it will give her full XP no matter what her level is. But it requires a special item. You can get it as loot or from a quest reward. It's pretty rare though, and if I make you a quest for one, it'll be a pretty hard one for you at your level."</p><p>"I'm going to mark that as Plan B in the hopes that one of the other options is better."</p><p>"Sorta like a familiar but not really, there are items in the Hunie Store that let you talk to animals, or let animals talk to you. There are telepathic ones or ones that just give them a human voice."</p><p>"But I'm out of Hunie. No wait, the Mailman said I could sell things now, I might be able to spare some potions. What's the fourth way?"</p><p>"Seduce a girl who can talk to cats and have her translate."</p><p>I ponder that for a moment. Koneko was a cat youkai, maybe she could talk to Yua? Or was that a racist assumption? Or would it be speciesist? I shake my head. "Even if I can find someone like that, it'll take too long and be too impractical in the long term. Hunie Store it is."</p><p>I reach my apartment and unlock the door. Yua runs into the entry from the hallway, meowing at me loudly. For her anyways. She's still a kitten, so her meowing is still pretty squeaky. I squat down and scratch her behind her ears.</p><p>"Sorry I'm late little lady. I got caught up with something. But I'm working on something that should make it so you can come with me in the future." She visibly perks up at that. "Give me a little bit to figure it out, alright? Let's get you some food for right now though."</p><p>I feed Yua and then start looking around in the Hunie Store for what I need. Quickly I find several options, but one stands out above the rest.</p><p><strong>Multiversal Telepathic Collar<br/></strong> <strong>Fits on any animal. Allows telepathic communication from the wearer to any party member.<br/></strong> <strong>5000 Hunie</strong></p><p>Expensive, but perfectly suited for what I want. Besides, the only other options are potions that have a limited duration and I could probably make myself with the right materials, and items that let me talk to animals that are very expensive.</p><p>Still, I need Hunie for it. Opening up the seller's part of the store, I start pricing how much I can get for my potions. It won't let me sell gear I picked up in the dungeon, so I can't just offload my old Iron Daggers, but the potions are all fair game.</p><p>I can get the most money for my XP potions, but those are way too useful to sell. Health potions, even my minor ones, sell for a good bit, but I refuse to sell those too.</p><p>Finally I settle on selling 25 of my Minor Poisons.  They don’t do enough damage to make much of a difference against the enemies I’m likely to face. I'll keep a few on hand just in case, but I can make more if I need them, and hopefully soon I can make better ones. And for 250 Hunie per vial it's a good trade.</p><p>I pull out the potions and submit my offer to the store. Immediately a box materializes on my kitchen table like it just got beamed in from the Enterprise, sound effects included. Yua jumps in surprise and I spend a moment calming her down before checking the box.</p><p>The box isn't empty, but instead filled with a cardboard grid sized perfectly to hold 25 vials. I pack the Minor Poisons in and close the box, which seals automatically. I wait for a moment, expecting it to disappear, but nothing happens. I look at my phone and see instructions. "Place the package outside of your door for pickup."</p><p>I shrug and do so. When I close the door, my phone dings, and I see that my sale went through and I now have 6250 Hunie. I open my door and the package is gone. Huh. I close the door again but don't move away. Going back to the buyers part of the store, I select the collar and purchase it. I also buy another 100 vials for 250 Hunie, leaving me with 1000 Hunie.</p><p>Exactly five seconds later there's a knock on my door, and the Mailman is once again standing on my doorstep. He holds out the stone slate. "I see you sold some of your potions. I appreciate the business."</p><p>"Sure, I needed the money for this item," I say, verifying my identity with the stone slate. You'd think that this wouldn't be necessary with [Observe], but there's probably a reason why he doesn't use it.</p><p>"That's what I count on," he says with a laugh. He hands the package over. "Thanks for buying from us, and have a good day." Once again, before I can say bye, he vanishes.</p><p>I shrug, close the door, and make my way back to the kitchen, opening the box. The vials get stashed away into my inventory immediately, but the collar I take out. It's a bit big, but the store description said it would magically change size, and it even changes appearance according to the wearer's taste.</p><p>I enter the kitchen. "Yua, I've got something for you." She looks up from where she was lounging on the table. I hold up her new collar. "This should let you talk to me in a way that I understand. Do you want to try it?" She jumps up and nods her head. "Okay, sit still, and I'll put it on."</p><p>I take off her old collar, a simple pink one, and replace it with the new one. Sure enough, it magically resizes to fit snugly on her neck. The plain leather appearance transforms into a lavender color with hints of white lace poking out from underneath it.</p><p>"<em>Hello?</em>" I hear the voice of a young girl in my head.</p><p>I smile. "Hi Yua. I hear you."</p><p>
  <strong>+20 affection with Yua</strong>
</p><p>Yua squeaks and jumps around excitedly. "<em>Yay! Yay! Yua can talk to Papa and Aunty!</em>"</p><p>I blink. Aunty was Kyu, since I called her that this morning. I guess that made me Papa? Well, it was better than her calling me Daddy.</p><p>"Oh my god she's adorable," says Kyu. "Call me Aunty again!"</p><p>Yua tilts her head in confusion. "<em>Aunty?</em>"</p><p>Kyu squeals in delight and gives Yua a big hug. "You are just the <em>cutest</em> little thing."</p><p>"<em>But Yua is bigger than Aunty</em>," Yua protests. As Kyu and Yua play and talk, my phone goes off. I open it up and see that Aika texted me a picture.</p><p>In the picture she's on her bed, wearing the swimsuit she just bought earlier. The top has been pulled up, showing off her breasts. One of her hands is playing with one of her nipples, and the other is deep into the bottom part of the swimsuit, obviously fingering herself. Her expression is lusty and her face is flushed.</p><p>Another text follows it. <em>I told you I'd be thinking of you tonight</em>. And then another. <em>I bet Atsuko's doing the same thing right now</em>.</p><p>If it's Aika's goal to get me horny, and it almost definitely is, then she's doing a great job of it. Unfortunately, she's not here to take care of it right now, and Kyu is still a no go. I'll just have to ignore it and focus on leveling instead. I start equipping my dungeon gear.</p><p>"<em>Papa?</em>" I hear. "<em>Are you leaving again?</em>" Yua looks at me. Kyu is pinned under one of her paws.</p><p>"I am," I confirm, ignoring the guilt her question gave me. "I have to get stronger. There are dangerous people in the world, and I have to be ready for them."</p><p>She's silent for a moment, and then tilts her head. "<em>Stronger means you're safer?</em>"</p><p>"Uhh. Usually, yeah." That wasn't quite what I had been saying, but it wasn't wrong either.</p><p>"<em>Then Yua wants to be strong!</em>" She declares more forcefully than I thought she was capable of. "<em>Yua doesn't want to ever be scared again! Yua doesn't want to be abandoned and be lonely and sad and scared! Yua wants to be strong enough so she can sleep all day in the sun next to Papa and eat all the best food like Papa fed her that day he and Mama saved her! Yua wants to save all the other lost and scared ones like she was!</em>"</p><p>I'm caught completely off guard by her sudden burst of emotion, but reflexively I pick her up and hold her to my chest. She closes her eyes and snuggles in close.</p><p>"I didn't know you felt like that Yua," I said. "Papa's not strong yet, but I'm going to become the strongest. And I can protect you too so you don't have to worry."</p><p>"<em>No.</em>" she protests. "<em>Yua wants to be strong too. Yua wants others to look at her like she looks at Papa. Yua doesn't want Papa to do it all alone.</em>"</p><p>"Okay then Yua," I say. I was going to make her a bit stronger anyways, but if she's this determined about it, I don't see a reason to not indulge her. "I'll help make you strong. It will probably be scary, but I'll be there to protect you until you can protect yourself, okay?"</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Yua</strong>
</p><p><strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Yua<br/></strong> <strong>[Feline Friend] - Increases Affection gain with cats and cat related beings by 20%</strong></p><p>"<em>Yaaaaaay!</em>" She hops out of my arms and jumps around. "<em>Yua will be the strongest ever!</em>"</p><p>I laugh at her antics. Kyu floats over to sit on my shoulder. "Things got pretty real there, huh? She's so cute I forgot you found her abandoned."</p><p>"Yeah. But I think it's good. She has something she wants, and it's something that will better herself. She's not being mopey about it, she's actively pursuing her goals."</p><p>"Hmm. Maybe. Either way, let me help out a little bit too. I haven't given you enough of these."</p><p>
  <strong>New Quest Added!</strong>
</p><p><strong>The Little Lady's Level<br/></strong> <strong>Objective: Get Yua to Level 25 before canon starts<br/>Bonus Objective: Get Yua to Level 50 before canon starts<br/>Reward: 5k XP(for both), 1000 Hunie, Gacha Token, ? Affection, ? Skill Gem<br/>Bonus Reward: 15k XP(for both), 3 Gacha Tokens, ? Affection, Familiar Stone</strong></p><p>I raise my eyebrows. "Level 50 seems like a pretty tall order, especially since she's getting reduced XP."</p><p>"That's why it's a bonus objective. You'll see that it has that difficult reward for making a familiar I mentioned earlier. It's a challenge. Plus, you've got how long until things kick off? Like three days?"</p><p>"Something like that, depending on your definition of start."</p><p>"Then just work hard, and if you don't get it you don't get it. Nothing on there is something you can't get later. I know you've gotten all the bonus objectives for the other quests I gave you, but that won't always be the case."</p><p>I nod, showing my understanding. And she was right. The rewards were very good, but not unique. Still, a few days of grinding might be enough if I use the XP potions I made.</p><p>I interrupt Yua's still ongoing celebration. "Okay Yua, I hope you slept a bunch earlier, because training starts right now."</p><p>The kitten skids to a stop and sits upright. "<em>Yay! Let's go let's go let's go!</em>"</p><p>I pick her up and place her on my left shoulder, the one Kyu isn't on. Then I use [Dungeon Traversal] to bring up the list of dungeons I can go to.</p><p><strong>Please select a dungeon<br/></strong> <strong>0: Zombie Dungeon<br/></strong> <strong>1: Mystical Forest</strong><br/><strong>1: Pharaoh's Tomb<br/></strong> <strong>1: Vampire Mansion</strong></p><p>Three new ones and they all look pretty interesting. But in terms of danger of bringing Yua too, the Mystical Forest was probably the best bet. Cats are suited for a forest right?</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter will show just a little bit of the dungeon and summarize stuff that happened, might include a couple other normal scenes, but the end is going to montage the rest of the week. It’s time to get involved in DxD.</p><p>Also I promise I won’t keep doing top and bottom AN’s</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. DxD: Tutorial 06</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch notes:<br/>- Rebalanced poisons to not be so OP. Conceptually, damage being based on the victims CON is neat, but too much work to balance. Damage is now a flat amount based on INT(which also does a better job justifying why the Rogue class gives 2 INT per level)<br/>- Fixed Momo’s family name, which is Hanakai, not Hakanai</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> Tuesday, 9:48pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Trees whip past me as I leap from branch to branch. My hands reach out and push, pull, and pivot myself into position using other branches and trunks as I weave a path through the forest. My new Rogue skill, [Parkour], really is the coolest. </p><p> </p><p>Especially in this bitch of a dungeon that is less a dungeon and more just a large patch of woods. I arrived here to see the door to the boss room right in front of me, only to be told by some cryptic riddle bullshit to go find the four wardstones and deactivate them. I’m glad it’s not just more stone passageways, but being told to go on a glorified scavenger hunt is pretty annoying as well.</p><p> </p><p>I see a flash of white among the greens and browns as I monkey my way through the forest and come to a silent stop on a tree branch.</p><p> </p><p>“Same plan as before Yua,” I whisper.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Okay </em>,” she replies. She scrambles out of the hood of my jacket, where I keep her safe while moving around so quickly, and leaps down to the branch before leaping to another one. At level 15, her stats are already good enough for such a feat, despite her young age.</p><p> </p><p>I draw my Ka-Bar Combat Knife and Iron Dagger of Burning and leap down. In the same instant that I land on the ground, my weapons plunge into the back of the <a href="https://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Large+Mushroom+People"> Mushroom Person </a> in front of me. It bellows out in a low voice despite not having a mouth, and turns to swing at me. I quickly dodge backwards. I had already gotten hit by one of those punches and it had sent me tumbling.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Another one to your left! </em>” Yua calls out from above, acting as another pair of eyes. I glance over and see it, it’s rotund form slowly waddling around towards me.</p><p> </p><p>“I see it,” I say. “Keep an eye out for pixies, and get to the ground if you see them coming.” I bait another punch out of the first Mushroom Person and stab it again. With a low groan, it falls over dead. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Got it- oh, there are some coming now! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>I turn my attention to the other Mushroom Person. “Keep them busy like you did last time. Attack if you see a chance, but focus on not getting hit.” Not that the pixies are dangerous. More annoying than anything. I run behind the Mushroom person and my knives flash out and cut it’s back. It bellows as well, and thankfully it catches fire. I dodge a punch, nearly get hit by the surprise follow up, but then it dies, burning to death.</p><p> </p><p>I immediately turn to Yua and see her weaving around a group of small creatures. They’re humanoid, but are only four inches tall and sexless, with pure black eyes and gossamer wings. They also don’t do any real damage, having no means of attack. They’re simply a nuisance, getting in your face, distracting you, pulling on you, and they’re fast and hard to catch.</p><p> </p><p>Yua jumps up suddenly and swipes at one with her paw, catching it by surprise and throwing it to the ground, where it lay dazed. Before it recovers she pounces on it and bites it, killing it.</p><p> </p><p>Hard to catch by normal standards anyways. For two DEX focused builds, they were just good target practice. My knives tear through the rest in a flash.</p><p> </p><p>“Good job Yua, that was impressively done,” I praise her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Psh. They may be weird but bugs are still bugs and no bug can escape Yua! </em>” she proudly declares. I laugh. </p><p> </p><p>“What a fearsome hunter you are,” I say. I pick her up and place her on my shoulder, and she climbs into my hood. “Let’s get going, there’s a lot of forest left to cover.” I leap into the trees and we’re off again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Tuesday, 11:12pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The Mushroom People are annoying to fight, but they give good XP, especially with me and Yua taking Minor XP potions for that five percent increase. My CON and STR had reached 50, giving me perks that increased my health, health regen, stamina, and stamina regen. INT had reached 100, giving me a perk that decreased the costs of all skills by half. Those combined meant I could keep my skills up constantly, including the one I got at Rogue level 40, [Detect].</p><p> </p><p>I feel [Detect] ping a location, indicating treasure. Following the ping I land next to an innocuous looking log. Not fooled by its appearance, I kick it and the top of the hollow log snaps off, revealing a treasure chest hidden within. I grin when I see that it’s locked. Locked chests always have better loot.</p><p> </p><p>“Another chest Yua,” I say as I take out my tools and kneel in front of the chest. “Keep a watch as I pick it open.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yes Papa! </em>” She climbs out of my hood and onto my head, where I can feel her weight shift slightly as she looks around. I’m not too worried due to the skills I have up being enough to give me some warning. [Detect]’s level is still low though, which means it’s range isn’t very high, so Yua keeping an eye out to give an earlier warning is helpful.</p><p> </p><p>Plus, she likes having something to do. She doesn’t really have any methods of attacking, especially anything tougher than a Pixie, so I have her mostly playing support. Which is fine, honestly. She’s still a young kitten, improved stats or not. She doesn’t need to be a full fledged warrior for at least a few months.</p><p> </p><p>I hear a satisfying click as I shift the last pin into place and the chest unlocks. I grin and store my tools before opening the chest. Inside is a cartoonish heart made out of a red crystal or glass. </p><p> </p><p><b>Crystal Heart</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Raises the Affection of a target by 15. Only works on those below 50 Affection.</b></p><p> </p><p>Better loot indeed. That will be extremely helpful, though I’ll have to pick a target for it very carefully. I stash it in my inventory and stand up. Yua climbs back into my hood and we’re off again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Tuesday, 11:48pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The last Mushroom Person dies with a groan. I sheathe my knives and drop [Sneak]. Due to an upgrade it got when I reached Rogue level 50, I can’t keep it up indefinitely anymore. </p><p> </p><p><b>[Chameleon](Active) - Level 22(8%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>When using [Sneak], you can now visibly fade into your surroundings, making you difficult to see. Increases cost of [Sneak] by 10x. Visibility reduced by 22%</b></p><p> </p><p>Though 10 minutes with all of my skills active is still more than enough time for most things, and a bit more leveling should see me back to indefinite stealth and all skills again. Plus, I can choose not to activate the [Chameleon] aspect if I need to save SP. </p><p> </p><p>I call Yua down from the branch she’s on and turn to where [Detect] is telling me a secret door is. A bit of investigation shows that what looks like a normal tree at first glance is actually a puzzle. I sigh. I’ve come across several similar trees, and they were all the same, but this one just looked more annoying. Climbing the tree I bend the branches in a certain way to arrange them in a pattern that was indicated on the trunk.</p><p> </p><p>When I move the last branch I hear a click, and an opening appears in the trunk at the base of the tree. I drop down and hop in. It’s a short and cramped tunnel directly downwards. No ladder, but the walls are close so it’s easy to climb up and down it. At the bottom is a small room lit by a bioluminescent moss of some kind growing over the walls. </p><p> </p><p>The last time I found one of these rooms there was a chest in the middle that had a jug that could produce a gallon of any mundane liquid once a day. But this time there was just a large stone covered in glowing runes. I touch it, and the runes fade. The sound of a bell rings out.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh thank god,” I say. “That’s the first of four wardstones down. Come on Yua, we’re taking a break.” I use [Dungeon Traversal] and teleport back to my bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Why? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you need some sleep. I’m sure you didn’t sleep enough today to spend all night this active. So you curl up in Papa’s hood and sleep for a few hours. I’m going to find all the secret areas in the Zombie dungeon and farm some alchemy materials.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Okay Papa </em> ,” Yua says with a yawn. I feel her weight shift as she gets comfortable. “ <em> Have fun. </em>”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Wednesday, 2:34am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>[Detect] pings a wall with an odd looking torch, but I’m already heading towards it. To my surprise, the Zombie dungeon is absolutely filled with secret areas that I just hadn’t bothered looking for my first time through. This was the twentieth secret room, and the eighth that was hidden using the same mechanism. I grab the torch and pull it downwards like a lever. The stone rumbles as a portion of the wall swings backwards, revealing a small room with a chest inside.</p><p> </p><p>The chest is unlocked, unfortunately. I had some amazing luck earlier. The things I found earlier included a gem that can copy written and printed information, a bracer made of a liquid metal that could change shape into simple tools or even a blade, a skill that let me clean up bloodstains, an amulet that improved my STR by 25, a stuffed doll that looked exactly like Yua, and no less than 4 Gacha tokens. </p><p> </p><p>But all of those had been in locked chests. Except for the Yua doll anyways. Unlocked chests had given me potions, simple gear, and random crafting materials, so this one didn’t exactly fill me with excitement.</p><p> </p><p>I open the chest and peer within. </p><p> </p><p><b>Remote Egg Vibe</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Egg vibe and remote with 100 foot range, unlimited battery, and is 100% silent</b></p><p> </p><p>...why? Why is this even here? This isn’t remotely zombie themed at all. Though on second thought, I’m extremely glad it isn’t. </p><p> </p><p>Whatever. I’ll take the free slightly magical sex toy. Aika would probably get a kick out of it. Ooh, or Ms. Nakano. Edging is her fetish right? I mean, considering her other fetishes she probably prefers edging others, but the thought of edging her while she’s teaching class is pretty hot. I store it in my inventory and turn to keep searching, but a window appears.</p><p> </p><p><b>Zombie Dungeon 100% cleared!</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Dungeon Reset is now available.</b></p><p> </p><p>So I could just reset it and run it again? Neat. Maybe something to look into later, if I need to farm some loot. But I’ve done enough in this dungeon for today. The XP from the zombies here does basically nothing for me. [Lockpicking] is the only skill that got more than one or two levels. I have enough ingredients now anyways, it’s time for some [Alchemy] grinding while Yua gets some sleep in.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Wednesday, 3:55am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I resist the urge to cackle, since it would wake Yua up, as I look at the fruits of my labor. Or, in the case of the four items I got from the Gacha, my fruits of my luck.</p><p> </p><p><b>(210) Despair</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Extremely sharp silent throwing knives. Comes with leg holsters that hold 10 on each leg. Damage = DEX, 3x Critical Hit Modifier</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Poisonous Sheath</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A sheath made to hold a dagger of any size smaller than a short sword. If left soaking in poison in the total dark for 24 hours, it will apply that poison to any blade sheathed in it. Can be reset by soaking it in water in the light.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Senzu Bean</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Recovers all HP, MP, and SP</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Water Tree Sapling</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Sapling of a tree that produces an endless amount of water from it's roots. When fully grown, a small branch can produce enough water to sustain a grown man.</b></p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure which one pleases me the most. Despair is a set of extremely good throwing knives from Warframe, and just the knowledge that Warframe weaponry is in the Gacha makes me smile. The Senzu Bean is nice, useful for emergencies, though not terribly unique. And the water tree would one day grow to be powerful enough to flood a manor in a torrent of water, or water an entire farm in an arid environment. It’s utility shouldn’t be underestimated. </p><p> </p><p>But the Poisonous Sheath seems like it’s custom made for me. Infinite poison application to any blade so long as I prepped it with enough poison? <span>It was a dream come true, especially since my Alchemy skill updated when it reached level 25.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Alchemy](Active) - Level 29(28%)</b>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <b>Mix ingredients and mana in order to create mystical potions and materials. Limited to three ingredients max. Skill can also be used to find out what would be made from held ingredients.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Using three ingredients is what turns potions into Moderate potions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>I had already used a lot of my potion materials making over fifty Minor Poisons, but I had enough for 15 Moderate XP potions, which increased XP gain by 10%, and 3 Moderate Poisons. Combined with the two Moderate Poisons I got as loot, and I had just enough to start soaking the Poisonous Sheath in a poison that did INT/5 damage per second, which gave me quite the edge.</p><p> </p><p>I glance at the time. Yeah, that should be enough for now. I pick up Yua, waking her up. She yawns cutely.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on Yua. We’re gonna get a couple more hours in before I have to go to school.” She wakes up quickly and dives into my hood as we vanish once more into the dungeon.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Wednesday, 6:47am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I flop face forward onto my bed with a groan. The next area of the dungeon was pure hell. Sentient plants that fired seeds like pistol bullets, plants that breathed fire, and plants that healed the other two types absolutely filled every inch of the place. And to access the wardstone, I had to find four red flowers to some shrine and place them there, meaning I had to hunt all over that section of woods while dealing with them.</p><p> </p><p>It mostly resulted in Yua sitting safe in my hood while I ran under stealth to kill them as fast as possible before they noticed me, something only made possible with [Detect], since they blended in with all the plants that didn’t try to kill me.</p><p> </p><p>Still, at the end of the day, and as exhausting it was, it was worth it. I pretty much had a full set of armor now, and none of it was from the Zombie dungeon, instead being made of wood or plant like material. I also picked up four skills.</p><p> </p><p><b>[Gardening](Passive) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Planting, growing, and harvesting of plants</b></p><p> </p><p><b>[Overgrow](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Force a plant to grow faster using MP</b></p><p> </p><p><b>[Photosynthesis](Passive) - Level 4(45%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Increases Health Regen when in sunlight.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>[Track](Active) - Level 2(33%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Track a target through an environment</b></p><p> </p><p>The first two will be a huge help once I start raising my own plants for potions. The third is just free better healing, if a little situational. The fourth I had experimented with a little before leaving the dungeon and it might be useful. </p><p> </p><p>But even better than skills, I found an insane four more Gacha tokens. I pull up my inventory and use them immediately.</p><p> </p><p><b>Assassin's Blade</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A bracer with a hidden blade. Modified so the removal of a finger isn't necessary. Damage=DEX x 2, 5x Critical Hit Modifier</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Spur</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Laser gun made by the Hermit Gunsmith. Can be charged to fire a large, powerful beam. Damage=200 per second charged up to 5 seconds Max</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Covetous Silver Serpent Ring</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Increases XP earned by 20%.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Genderbend Cheat Code</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Use to rewrite reality to change the sex of any one person in the universe.</b></p><p> </p><p>Well then. I do the mental math and the Assassin’s Blade does less damage than my Ka-Bar still, but does better than any other weapon. Plus, how could I <em> not </em> use such a cool weapon? The Spur I didn’t recognize, but it’s a laser gun so therefore awesome. </p><p> </p><p>The Covetous Silver Serpent Ring would have been much more appreciated earlier. I look at Yua, who is now level 45, just a little bit away from the bonus objective. Even with reduced XP, the dungeon was proving a very good grinding spot. But this will help with the last stretch, and honestly 20% increase forever will be a huge help as levels become more and more difficult to get.</p><p> </p><p>The Genderbend Cheat Code is powerful. And tempting. It’s basically what I did to Issei and Saji, but I can do it at any time. I can use it on Kiba, maybe, he’d make a pretty cute girl. But no, that’s a waste. Especially since I have a Genderbend potion that I found in a chest. It doesn’t rewrite reality, but maybe I can convince him to drink it, or trick him into it at least. There are people that are much better suited for reality warping sex changes than him anyways.</p><p> </p><p>My phone alarm goes off. I lazily turn it off. I just want to take a nap but I also don’t want to deal with getting to school late. Or skipping. I need a good reputation with the student council. With a sigh I get up and start getting ready for school.</p><p> </p><hr/><p><em> Wednesday, 11:45am </em> </p><p> </p><p>On my way to the cafeteria to buy some lunch, I see Momo in the hallway. I tell Aika and Atsuko that I’ll see them later and go over to her. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey Momo!” I greet her. </p><p> </p><p>“Axton!” She greets me warmly. “How are you doing? How’s Yua?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yua is doing great. She’s so smart for her age, and so talkative. I’ll have to take a video so you can hear her little meows.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh please do, I would love to hear that.”</p><p> </p><p>“And speaking of Yua, I saw this the other day while I was out, and I absolutely had to get it for you.” I pull out the Yua doll of my inventory, making it look like I’m pulling it out of my jacket’s inner pocket. I hold it out for her. “Here. You might not have been able to take care of Yua, but a doll should be fine, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Her expression lights up as she takes the doll. “Oh my, it looks exactly like her! That’s amazing. Thank you Axton, I love it.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai</b>
</p><p> </p><p>That puts her at 78 Affection. Which should be more than enough for me to do something I should’ve done already.</p><p> </p><p>“So I know you’re pretty busy with Student Council stuff, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime this weekend? We could go see a movie, get some dinner, something along those lines.”</p><p> </p><p>If it weren’t for the skill I got this morning, [Cold Reading], that let me read people's expressions better, I would’ve missed her efforts to keep her expression calm. But even without it, there’s an excitement in her eyes that is hard to miss.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m free Friday evening. We could meet up at the park at 6pm?”</p><p> </p><p>I smile. “It’s a date,” I say. A blush creeps up her face. Before she can respond I look at the time. “Ah, sorry Momo. I gotta dash if I want to finish eating before class. I’ll see you this Friday!” I wave as I run off.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Wednesday, 5:56pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I lean back in my bed and groan as Aika’s lips move up and down my cock, working hard to take in as much as she can fit. She’s getting close to being able to take it all. Speaking of close, her hard work pays off as I feel myself climax and I grunt, ejaculting deep into her throat.</p><p> </p><p>She looks up at me from between my legs, naked save for her thigh high socks, bliss in her eyes. She waits for my orgasm to finish before slowly moving her head back, her tongue licking every inch of my shaft as she retracts from it.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you taste any of that at all, or did it all just go straight down your throat?” I ask in a lightly teasing tone. </p><p> </p><p>“I got a little bit that was left on your tip,” she says, laughing. Her eyes lower. “You’re still hard.”</p><p> </p><p>And I am. It looks like my CON or whatever stat dictated that reached the point it needed to in order to let me go twice in a row. I grin. “Get on your knees with your back to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes glint and she’s quick to obey. I take a moment to appreciate the sight of her pert ass and beautiful legs and the way they frame her slit, which is glistening with arousal. Getting on my own knees, I line up and thrust every inch of myself into her in one go.</p><p> </p><p>She cries out and cums hard. She must have been on the edge from the blowjob. I give her a moment to come down from her climax, feeling her warm insides shudder and convulse around my shaft. Right before she’s calmed down, I grab her by her hips, and start thrusting roughly into her.</p><p> </p><p>The sounds of flesh against flesh fill the room as I pound her from behind, accompanied by the sounds of Aika’s moans of pleasure she releases every time I slide into her. Her hands grip the bed sheets tight as she presses her face down into the bed. The sight of her writhing in pleasure, her bare back flushed and sweaty, arouses me even further, and my thrusts become more rapid.</p><p> </p><p>She gasps and her breathing becomes heavy. “Yes yes yes yes!” she cries out. “Right there, keep doing that!”</p><p> </p><p>I can feel my own orgasm building up, but I can tell hers is too. The pressure builds as I keep pounding into her. Her cries grow louder and less articulate until finally she tenses up and I feel her tighten like a vice around me. The dam breaks, and my own orgasm washes over me as well as I cum, painting her insides white.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, we both remain tense in our post-climax positions, but simultaneously we relax, and slump down onto the bed, breathing hard. We’re spooning now, with my dick softening between her legs, having been pulled out in our collapse.</p><p> </p><p>For a good minute, no words are said and we just relax, basking in the feeling. Once she catches her breath she rolls over to face me before kissing me lightly. After she breaks the kiss I look down, and see my cum slowly leaking out of her.</p><p> </p><p>“I might be a bit late in asking this,” I start. “But I don’t suppose today is a safe day for you?”</p><p> </p><p>She snorts and rolls her eyes. “I was wondering when you were going to ask about that, considering last time. I’m on the pill, you don’t have to worry about knocking me up.” Her expression becomes sultry. “Unless you want to knock me up?”</p><p> </p><p>“No no,” I deny while laughing, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice. “No kids for me, not yet anyways.” </p><p> </p><p>“Probably a good idea,” she agrees. Her eyes look down, and she reaches a hand out to gently caress my dick. Her light touch is sensuous, and within moments it starts hardening again. Her eyes widen. “You are just insatiable, aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been working on my stamina,” I say. </p><p> </p><p>She gently strokes me, almost lost in thought. “I don’t think I can go another round right now. We’re going to have to speed up getting another girl in your bed, you’re more than I can handle on my own.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well that’s what yesterday was about, right? You starting to bring Atsuko around?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” she admits, still running her fingers over my length. “It might take a while for her. She’s a pervert when it comes to boobs, but she’s weirdly innocent about almost everything else. I didn’t want to push things too fast, but she had a lot of fun on our date yesterday, so I might be able to push a little more.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is Atsuko the only one you have your sights on?” I need more than just two or three for Kyu’s quest, and the sooner I finish it, the better.</p><p> </p><p>“For now. Hmm. How are your Kendo skills? Murayama and Katase from our class are both in the Kendo club, and impressing them might lead to something. Neither of them have boyfriends, and I’ve heard them talk about casual hookups before, they might be interested.”</p><p> </p><p>“I haven’t done official Kendo, but I’m not bad with a blade. It’s worth a shot.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll talk to them, hype you up a bit, see if I can’t get their interest. How about you? Any girls caught your eyes?” She grins. “Like Hanakai? You two looked very friendly during lunch today.”</p><p> </p><p>I smile. “I actually managed to schedule a date with her for this Friday. No idea how that will go, or how she’ll feel about a more open relationship, but things are going well with her so far.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm, so I guess you don’t need any help on that end. Anyone else?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well. It’s a long shot. But Ms. Nakano is pretty hot, and the thought of sleeping with my teacher makes it even better.”</p><p> </p><p>Aika laughs. “You perv. But you’re right, that is pretty hot. I might be able to help with that, give me some time to think about it.”</p><p> </p><p>I shrug. “No rush, she was always going to be a long term project.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s probably enough girls for now.”</p><p> </p><p>“‘For now’ she says,” I laugh. “Not that I disagree. It’s a good start. But for now, decide if you want to go another round or not, because I’m going to need you to either commit or stop teasing me.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiles teasingly and thinks about it as her grip tightens on my hard shaft. “Well, maybe <em> one </em> more round.”</p><p> </p><p>We go two more times after that.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Wednesday, 11:13pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I take a moment to catch my breath as the enemy in front of me dies.</p><p> </p><p>“This dungeon is so half-assed,” I complain out loud. “Two areas with distinct and supernatural forest themed enemies. But the third area?” I throw my hands in the air. “It’s just bears. Big fucking grizzly bears.” I turn my head to the sky. “What, did you <em> somehow </em> run out of video games to steal forest themed enemies from? Did you really have to just start putting normal animals in here?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Uhh. Papa? </em> ” Yua interrupted me. “ <em> What about the spriggans? Are they in the real world too? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>I sigh and my shoulder slump. “No, not that I know of anyways,” I admit. “They’re perfectly good forest themed enemies. We’ve barely run into any though, at least compared to the bears which are way tankier than they have any right to be.”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. I’m just venting because the fights were annoying. I look to see what loot I got from the bear and I notice that there’s another window. A much larger one.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Quest Completed!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The Little Lady’s Level</b>
</p><p><b>Objective: Get Yua to Level 25 before canon starts</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Bonus Objective: Get Yua to Level 50 before canon starts</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Reward: 5k XP(for both), 1000 Hunie, Gacha Token, +10 Affection with Yua, [Mentor] Skill</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Bonus Reward: 15k XP(for both), 3 Gacha Tokens, +20 Affection with Yua, Familiar Stone</b></p><p> </p><p>At least the bears were useful for something. “Yua, come over here a minute.” She hops down from the tree branch she was watching from and trots over to me on her short kitten legs. I kneel down.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but you’re pretty strong now,” I say.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Really? </em>” she asks with excitement in her voice. I nod.</p><p> </p><p>“I guarantee that there’s not a single kitten in the world as strong or smart as you.” Not a normal kitten anyways. Some sort of cat-like supernatural being maybe.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yay! Yua did it! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“For doing such a good job, Aunty Kyu prepared a special reward for you,” I tell her. I pull the familiar stone out of my inventory. In truth, it’s more of a crystal, wrapped in a golden band with inscriptions that I didn’t recognize. “If you want, I can use this to make you my Familiar.”</p><p> </p><p>She tilts her head. “<em> What’s a Familiar? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully I had gotten the rundown on the details from Kyu earlier. “We’d be connected, permanently. You know how you can talk to me with that collar? Well, if you became my Familiar, you would be able to talk to me without it, from anywhere. We’d always know where the other one was, and I can teleport you to me if I need you. You’ll get stronger, faster, as fast as I do, and you’ll be able to stay by my side more often.”</p><p> </p><p>I can tell she’s about to immediately accept so I raise a hand. “I want you to think about this Yua. This is permanent. There <em> might </em> be a way to undo it, but I suspect that if there is, it’ll suck, and might come with a pretty heavy cost. So if you do this, it’s <em> forever </em>. You won’t be able to go off and do your own thing when you’re older, you’ll always be bound to me.”</p><p> </p><p>With a maturity and thoughtfulness uncharacteristic of her age, she actually listens to me, and seems to think about it. “<em> Could Yua still save lost kittens? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>I nod. “Whenever I don’t need you for something. Which should be most of the time, Papa will be very strong and will have a lot of friends to help him. And I’ll even help you when I can.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Then Yua wants to do it. Yua wants to stay by Papa’s side forever, especially if Yua can still save lost kittens. </em>”</p><p> </p><p>I nod. “Okay then.” I gently press the Familiar Stone against her small chest, and it sinks into her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Yua is now your Familiar!</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Yua will now gain full XP no matter the level difference.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Yua can be summoned instantly once a day</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Yua can now communicate with you telepathically.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“How do you feel?” I ask her.</p><p> </p><p>She tilts her head. “<em> ...Yua doesn’t feel any different? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>I suppose without the notification, I wouldn’t be able to tell anything was different either. But there’s one way to confirm it to her. “Here Yua, I’ll show you it worked. Let me remove your collar, I have a better one for you to wear anyways.” I take off the Multiversal Telepathic Collar. “Try talking to me now.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Can Papa still hear Yua? </em>” I hear her voice a little differently than when she was wearing the collar. Like it’s coming from a different ‘direction’, though with telepathy the concept of direction doesn’t translate very well. But it’s just as clear.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yep, I can hear you just fine </em> ,” I send back on the telepathic link, making her perk up in surprise. “ <em> Now here, lemme put this new collar on you. It’ll protect you a little bit. </em>” I pull out a collar that dropped from a spriggan earlier and put it around her neck. </p><p> </p><p><b>Spriggan Collar</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Cat collar made of a plant like leather. Provides 50 damage reduction against magical attacks.</b></p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t protect her all that much, and it isn’t very cute, but I’ll take what protection I can get. She’s still a kitten, and with no perks to give her modifiers to her health, her health is still at a measly 530. I’ll have to do something to fix that as soon as I can. At least she regenerates health at 1% per second now, instead of whatever the healing rate of a mundane kitten is.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we could stop here. You’re strong enough now, and so am I. But screw it. Let’s finish up this dungeon and then go home.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yay! </em> ” Yua exclaims and jumps up onto my shoulder and climbs once more into my hood. “ <em> Let’s go! </em>”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Thursday, 1:44am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>I bury my Ka-Bar knife and my Assassin’s Blade into the back of the spriggan, right where her heart is. She screams in pain before the color drains from the wood that forms her body and she falls to the ground, lifeless.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> The barrier around the stone thingy  is gone now! </em>” Yua reports from where I have her watching it. I sigh in relief. It was just a simple kill quest after all, not another scavenger hunt.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> I’m on my way, make sure you keep [Sneak] active, </em>” I send back to her. I take off, running full tilt even under my own [Sneak], barely making a noise as I speed through the trees. </p><p> </p><p>I almost missed it when I completed the quest to make Yua stronger, but the new skill I had gotten was very useful indeed.</p><p> </p><p><b>[Mentor](Active/Passive) - Level 6(13%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Teach party members your skills. Students can only learn 1 skill(s) at a time. Skill only improves while in a party with you. Skill only receives 6% of XP. [Mentor] cannot be taught.</b></p><p> </p><p>Perks can’t be taught, and if there are limitations on what skills can be taught I’ll have to find out later, since I can only teach one at a time. For now at least, the description implies that number will increase. I immediately taught Yua [Sneak]. Of all my skills, only [Photosynthesis] comes close to being as helpful for her survivability.</p><p> </p><p>I arrive at the clearing containing the wardstone for the third area in mere moments. 250 DEX is no joke, and neither is the perk I got when I reached it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[FTL Synapses] - Your reaction time is zero, there is no time lag between thought and action.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It was a little underwhelming at first, but I think I’ll appreciate it more once I get even faster. Already I was noticing an increase in my efficiency in parkouring around the forest, and enemies were much easier to dodge now.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, the magical barrier that was around the stone before is gone now. I lay a hand on the stone and the colors fade away and a bell chimes in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>It was still pretty early in the night. “Hey Yua, you feeling tired?” I call out to her. She zips over to me and climbs on top of my shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Nope! Yua has barely done anything except watch over Papa </em>.” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s a good point. Hopefully the next area has some enemies you can fight. Come on, let’s get this dungeon over with.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Thursday, 4:12am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Fucking BEES,” I yell as I cut two more of the bastards in half. The bees in question are roughly the size of an American football, fuzzy, and have dangerous looking stingers that don’t fall out after one sting. Oh, and there are a million of them.</p><p> </p><p>Okay, probably not actually a million of them, but still. They’ve been swarming us since the moment we entered this section of the dungeon, with no chance for me to [Sneak] again. At least they go down easy, so I don’t need the stealth attack multipliers. My new Rogue skill, [Critical Detector], tells me where their weak points are anyways, and they’re easy to aim for.</p><p> </p><p>I see another bee approaching, but before it gets close a nearly invisible orb of force slams into it, battering it but not killing it. I draw Spur with my left hand, the same hand that I’m wearing Assassin’s Blade on, charge a shot, and fire it, finishing the bee off.</p><p> </p><p>“Good job Yua,” I call out.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> This is so much fun! No bug will ever escape Yua now, no matter how high they fly! </em>” Yua exclaims. I look over at her. In her mouth is a Wand of Magic Missile that I found in an earlier chest. It uses 200MP and only does INT damage, so her damage output isn’t very high, but it’s something. And she’s enjoying herself, which is more important.</p><p> </p><p>Motioning for Yua to follow, I head deeper into this section of the woods, killing bees as we go. [Detect] pings off of something I don’t recognize, so I head for it immediately.</p><p> </p><p>I enter a clearing absolutely covered in honeycomb. It looks like a bee hive trying to subsume a forest. In the center is the final wardstone, and right in front of it is a <a href="https://i.imgur.com/Vn8ConK.png"> humanoid queen bee</a>.  She’s actually pretty cute.</p><p> </p><p>“Greetings, your Majesty,” I call out. “Would you be open to negotia-” I curse and dodge as she screams and lunges at me with her stinger. </p><p> </p><p>“Violence it is then,” I say to myself. I call out louder. “Yua, watch for the normal bees. I’ll take care of the Queen.” I raise Spur and start charging it.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Got it Papa! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>Spur reaches its maximum charge and I release the trigger, firing a massive white beam of energy straight into the Queen Bee. She screams again in rage, and the fight is on.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Thursday, 4:35am </em>
</p><p> </p><p>[Dungeon Traversal] brings me back to my room, the dungeon finally completed. The final boss, who turned out to be Petey Piranha of all possibilities, hadn’t been too bad. He had no ranged attacks so I was able to keep my distance and whittle him down with Despair and Spur.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow, you guys really blazed through that one, huh?” Kyu says. I look over at her and blink in surprise. She was much much bigger now, standing at maybe two and a half feet tall. She notices me looking at her. “Yep, I’m halfway back to full size.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Aunty is so big now! </em> ” Yua exclaims. She zips over to Kyu and jumps at her. “ <em> No fair, Yua wants to be big too! </em>” Kyu laughs and catches her, her new form just barely big enough to hold Yua.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you’ll be big soon. You just gotta grow up a little. And I’m sure your Papa can find a way to make you even bigger.” They both turn and look at me expectantly. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll look into it,” I say. “Yua needs a way to increase her health anyways. She’s way too squishy.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Yua isn’t squishy! </em> ” she protests. “ <em> Yua’s strong! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>Do I explain the concept of squishiness to her? Nah, too much work. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Papa was just teasing.” She pouts, but Kyu distracts her with head scratches.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve got some Gacha tokens right?” Kyu asks. “Maybe that’ll give you something that can help.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. 4 from the quest, one from the Queen Bee boss, and another from the final boss. Also have another Crafting Skill gem, but I think I’ll hold on to that until I get a Mage class, or until I have a need for a specific skill.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well come on then bub, chop chop. Spin that wheel!” Kyu exclaims. Shrugging, I use my six Gacha tokens.</p><p> </p><p><b>(3) Black Key</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Holy swords used by the Church's Executioners. Normally carried as bladeless hilts, you can use 100MP to create a full length blade. Weighted for throwing. Deal DEX damage. When stabbed into a being's shadow that being cannot move.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Purging Stone</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Break it to remove a curse. Works on any curse.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Sentient Rope</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A 50 feet length of rope that is sentient and animate. Has roughly the same  intelligence as a dog. Responds to verbal commands. More durable than mundane rope.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Stardrop</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A mysterious fruit shaped like a star that empowers those who eat it. Permanently increases HP, MP, or SP.</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Shiny Coin</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A mundane coin except that when it's flipped, everyone's eyes are drawn to it and they're unable to look away</b></p><p> </p><p><b>Isma’s Tear</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A teardrop green crystal on a silk cord. When worn around the neck, it provides 100% resistance to Acid.</b></p><p> </p><p>All of the items are pretty useful, but it’s the Stardrop that catches my attention. It’s a bit of a dice roll, but it can definitely provide a boost to Yua that she desperately needs. It’s pretty useful for me too, but I have a lot of ways to empower myself, and so few ways to empower her. Decision made, I pull it out of my inventory.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright Yua. Eat this. It will make you stronger.”</p><p> </p><p>She disentangles herself from Kyu and walks over. “<em> Okay Papa! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>When she finishes eating it, something that takes a while considering that the fruit is definitely larger than her stomach, a light purple glow emanates from her for a moment. I use [Observe] on her.</p><p> </p><p><b>Yua<br/></b> <b>Race: Feline<br/></b> <b>Level: 67(12%)<br/></b> <b>HP: 1360 (27.2 per second)<br/></b> <b>MP: 680 (13.6 per second)<br/></b> <b>SP: 680 (13.6 per second)<br/></b> <b>CON: 68<br/></b> <b>STR: 68<br/></b> <b>DEX: 135<br/></b> <b>INT: 68<br/></b> <b>WIS: 68<br/></b> <b>CHA: 137<br/></b> <b>LUK: 76</b></p><p> </p><p>I let out a sigh of relief. It did increase her health, and it increased it by a percentage, not by a flat value, which I was afraid of. An increase in MP might have been okay too, I would just have to find a way to make her a forcefield powered by mana or something. SP would have been the worst, leaving me with no choice but to rely solely on [Sneak]. </p><p> </p><p>I picked her up and held her against my chest. She closes her eyes and starts purring. “Okay, come on. Let’s get a couple hours of sleep in before I have to go to school.” I look at Kyu. “You too, come join us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” she asks teasingly, even as she floats over to the bed. “Trying to get me into your bed without finishing the quest first?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t need to complete a quest to cuddle with a friend, do I? Plus you sleep there every night, I’m just not usually there too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah fam, you right. Come on, it’s cuddle time.”</p><p> </p><p>I lay down, and Yua stays curled up on my chest, already asleep. Kyu snuggles up to my side and within moments we’re all asleep.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Thursday, 12:02pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“We should ask Axton to weigh in on the Great Boob Debate,” Aika says while I, her, and Atsuko eat lunch.</p><p> </p><p>“Boob debate?” I ask, confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Me and Aika disagree on who has the best boobs in school,” Atsuko answers. “It comes up every now and then but we can never agree.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh? I’m surprised. Weren’t you saying the other day that all breasts are great, but now you’re ranking them?”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugs. “I mean, all candy is good too, but you still have one you prefer more often, right? Same thing.”</p><p> </p><p>“I guess,” I respond. I look at Aika. “What is the current state of the debate? Who are our top contenders?”</p><p> </p><p>“We eventually whittled it down to either Rias Gremory or Akeno Himejima,” Aika said. “Unless you’ve changed your mind since last time Atsuko.”</p><p> </p><p>Atsuko shakes her head. “Nope. Gremory has the best boobs, no question. Himejima’s are bigger, but bigger doesn’t mean better. Gremory’s are the perfect size.”</p><p> </p><p>“But even if we’re talking about who has the best boobs, presentation and context matter,” Aika argues. “I’ll agree that Gremory has nice boobs, but Himejima is a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko with big boobs, and you can’t beat that.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re still wrong about that,” Atsuko denies. “It doesn’t matter what she is, we’re judging boobs, not girls.” She turns to me. “So? What do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think that I have no idea who you guys are talking about,” I lie. I haven’t seen them or heard any conversations about them since coming to this world, so it’s only sort of a lie.</p><p> </p><p>Atsuko slumps. “Oh right, you just transferred here. They’re the two prettiest girls in school. Gremory has long red hair down to her waist, and Himejima has even longer black hair that she keeps in a ponytail, and they both have really big boobs. Usually they’re together. You wouldn’t forget them if you saw them.”</p><p> </p><p>“I see,” I replied. “Sorry, looks like I can’t really contribute to the Great Boob Debate yet. Or at least, I can’t help break the stalemate.” I lean forward. “But I can say this. I think your boobs are pretty cute Atsuko. They get my vote for sure.”</p><p> </p><p>I can watch the blush speed up her face as she goes red from embarrassment. For a little extra oomph, I hit her with just a little bit of [Erotic Pierrot]. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>+12 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“I- you- you can’t-” she stammers.</p><p> </p><p>Aika laughs. “You raise a pretty good point Axton. Maybe cuteness is what we should be focusing on.”</p><p> </p><p>Atsuko buries her face in her hands. “Noooooooo,” she whines. “Stop teasing me you guys.”</p><p> </p><p>“No teasing here,” I said. “I mean it.”</p><p> </p><p>Unsurprisingly, this seemed to only embarrass her further, and the rest of lunch is spent trying to coax her back into the conversation.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <em> Thursday, 5:11pm </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s as Atusko, Aika, and I are walking home together that I see her. She stands out because she’s wearing a different school’s uniform despite being this close to Kuoh Academy. An [Observe] confirms it.</p><p> </p><p><b>Raynare<br/></b> <b>Race: Fallen Angel<br/></b> <b>Level: 77<br/></b> <b>HP: 3600<br/></b> <b>MP: 3120<br/></b> <b>SP: 2240<br/></b> <b>CON: 120<br/></b> <b>STR: 112<br/></b> <b>DEX: 107<br/></b> <b>INT: 78<br/></b> <b>WIS: 65<br/></b> <b>CHA: 97<br/></b> <b>LUK: 34</b></p><p> </p><p>The Fallen Angel in disguise heads toward us. I try not to tense. If she’s here, now, that means canon is about to start. I’m still not sure how I’m going to handle her trying to kill Atsuko. Do I let Rias resurrect her as a devil, or do I prevent it entirely? It looks like my time to decide is running short.</p><p> </p><p>As she gets closer I frantically try to guess her plan. She asked Issei on a date in canon, which worked because he was a guy constantly reviled by girls before his entrance into the supernatural world. But here, as a girl who didn’t seem to have any particular hangups, I’m not sure how Raynare will approach her. Will she just attack outright, not bothering with the deception? I tense up slightly, ready for a fight.</p><p> </p><p>She stops in front of the three of us. “Umm, excuse me!” She starts frantically and bows. “My name is Amano Yuuma. I noticed you at the park the other day and I just had to come and talk to you and ask if you’ll join me on a date this weekend because I really want to be your girlfriend Axton!”</p><p> </p><p>...Wait, <em> me </em>?</p><p> </p><hr/><p>For those who like character sheets, here are Axton’s stats, skills, and notable items. Below it is a short author note.</p><p> </p><p><b>Axton<br/></b> <b>Level: 83<br/></b> <b>Class: Rogue(83/100)[23%]<br/></b> <b>HP: 1820 (36.4 per second)<br/></b> <b>MP: 3800 (76 per second)<br/></b> <b>SP: 2300 (46 per second)<br/></b> <b>CON: 91<br/></b> <b>STR: 90(115)<br/></b> <b>DEX: 260<br/></b> <b>INT: 190<br/></b> <b>WIS: 86<br/></b> <b>CHA: 96<br/></b> <b>LUK: 143(153)</b></p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>Skills</b> </span>
</p><p><b>[Sneak](Active) - Level 78(72%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Reduces visibility and sound created by movement, allowing for stealthy traversal. 40SP/s.</b></p><p><b>[Lockpicking](Active) - Level 33(32%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Attempt to pick a lock, as long as the appropriate tools are used.</b></p><p><b>[Sleight of Hand](Passive) - Level 52(25%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Increases the user's ability to perform sleight of hand techniques and dexterous movement</b></p><p><b>[Backstab](Passive) - Level 73(45%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Sneak attacks on an enemies back do extra damage. Replaces sneak attack multiplier with 16.6x damage</b></p><p><b>[Pickpocket](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Attempt to take an item from a person. Chance increases the less they are aware of you.</b></p><p><b>[Erotic Pierrot](Active) - Level 18(6%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Manipulate the lust of a target within eyesight. Cost 50MP/s</b></p><p><b>[Lewd Scouter](Active) - EX</b> <b><br/></b> <b>A sexual obverse. Gives sexual information about the target. </b></p><p><b>[Disguise](Passive) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Helps the user disguise themselves</b></p><p><b>[Eavesdrop](Active) - Level 50(86%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>By focusing, you can listen in to a conversation you can see or that is happening nearby. 50 meter range, 3SP/s.</b></p><p><b>[Alchemy](Active) - level 29(28%)</b> <b><br/></b><b>Mix ingredients and mana in order to create mystical potions and materials. Limited to three ingredients max. Skill can also be used to find out what would be made from held ingredients.</b></p><p><b>[Parkour](Passive) - Level 46(63%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Passive skill that improves movement in complicated terrain or around obstacles</b></p><p><b>[Detect](Active) - Level 54(1%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Detects traps, poeple, valuables, and points of interest in a 54 meter range, 3SP/s.</b></p><p><b>[Trapping](Active) - Level 10(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Create and disable traps</b></p><p><b>[Chameleon](Active) - level 73(94%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>When sneaking, you now visibly fade into your surroundings, making you difficult to see. Increases cost of [Sneak] by 10x. Visibility reduced by 73%</b></p><p><b>[Clean Blood](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Causes blood stains and pools to disappear. Rate rises with skill level. Uses 5MP/s</b></p><p><b>[Decode](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Decode ciphers and other means of information obfuscation</b></p><p><b>[Gardening](Passive) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Improves planting, growing, and harvesting of plants</b></p><p><b>[Hacker](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Ability to hack into digital devices</b></p><p><b>[Overgrow](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Force a plant to grow faster using MP</b></p><p><b>[Photosynthesis](Passive) - Level 35(20%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Increase Health Regen when in sunlight.</b></p><p><b>[Track](Active) - Level 22(13%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Track a target through an environment</b></p><p><b>[Cold Reading](Passive) - Level 21(54%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Gives instinctual knowledge of a person's tells to help you determine what they are thinking.</b></p><p><b>[Mentor](Active) - Level 16(19%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Teach party members your skills. Students can only learn 1 skill(s) at a time. Skill only improves while in a party with you. Skill only receives 16% of XP. [Mentor] cannot be taught.</b></p><p><b>[Spider Climb](Active) - Level 27(58%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Allows the user to cling to surfaces, enabling them to climb on shear walls and even ceilings. 10SP/s</b></p><p><b>[Knockout](Active) - Level 1(0%)</b> <b><br/></b> <b>Deals 260 SP damage a second to a grappled foe. When their SP reaches zero, they are knocked unconscious for several hours but otherwise unharmed.</b><b></b></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>New Perks(that didn’t get listed)</b> </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Rewarded for CHA 50<br/></b>
  <b>[Cuckoo Song] - Gain great control over your voice, making it sound like whatever you want to, including the voices of other people.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Rewarded for LUK 100<br/></b>
  <b>[RN-Jesus] - Loot and item drops are guaranteed to be better</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Critical Detector] - Instinctively know where to strike for a critical hit.</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>Equipped Gear</b> </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Ka-Bar Combat Knife - The US Military’s combat knife of choice. Damage = DEX x 3, 3x Critical Hit Modifier</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Assassin's Blade - A bracer with a hidden blade. Modified so the removal of a finger isn't necessary. Damage=DEX x 2, 5x Critical Hit Modifier</b>
</p><p>
  <b>(210) Despair - Extremely sharp silent throwing knives. Comes with leg holsters that hold 10 on each leg. Damage = DEX, 3x Critical Hit Modifier</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Ivy Chest Piece - A piece of light chest armor made entirely of vines. Reduces physical and magical damage by 50. Increases stealthiness in wooded environments.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Poisonous Sheath - A sheath made to hold a dagger of any size smaller than a short sword. If left soaking in poison in the total dark for 24 hours, it will apply that poison to any blade sheathed in it. Can be reset by soaking it in water in the light.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Liquid Metal Bracer - Metal Bracer. Reduces physical and magical damage by 100. Can turn into simple tools and weapons. Weapon deals 2x DEX damage with 3x Crit Modifier</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Livingwood Greaves - Greaves made of a strange wood. Reduces physical and magical damage by 50. Increases stealthiness in wooded environments.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Hide Boots - Rough looking boots made of some sort of animal hide. Offer great protection against the cold and are very quiet.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Lucky Underwear - Raise LUK by 10 when worn. Are magically always clean.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Potion Belt Pouch - Secure but easily accessible storage for quick access to up to 10 potions</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Hornet Ring - When equipped, critical hits are more effective. Doubles the base Critical Hit Modifier</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Ring of Burn Protection - Prevents the 'burn' status effect when equipped</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Ring of Paralysis Protection - Prevents the 'paralyzed' status effect when equipped</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Covetous Silver Serpent Ring - Increases XP earned by 20%.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Amulet of Strength - Raises STR by 25 when worn</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>Cool Loot(that didn’t get mentioned)</b> </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Sending Stones - These connected stones can act as magical walkie talkies</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Scroll of Find Person - One use spell. Insert mana to use. Think of a person when casting and learn their location. Does not update if they move.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Scroll of Raise Corpse - One use spell. Insert mana to use. Raises a corpse as a level 25 zombie.</b>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m not a fan of this chapter, but I think this is the best way I can do it. Too much progress was made in the dungeon for it to be skipped over entirely. For those who don’t like gamer/dungeon stuff, please put up with at least this much. For those who do, sorry I’m blowing past it but I really do want to get to canon start. And those who don’t like the big jump in power, *shrug*. He needed to be roughly this strong to be able to influence canon at all so it was going to happen no matter what. There won’t be anymore grinding for a while though as plot stuff happens, so please just view this as a one-off early spike. From here on out, it’ll be proper plot stuff, and trips to dungeons will be handled better.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. DxD: Tutorial 07</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"The day at the park?" I ask, buying time. Raynare asking me on a date is throwing me off balance. Why is she when I don't even have a Sacred Gear? Except Sona thinks I might, because not sensing any mana is weird. So maybe the Fallen reached the same conclusion? Fuck, I need more information.</p><p>"I saw how you came across that lost kitten and saved it," she explains. "I knew then that you were a kind and caring person that I wanted to get to know better."</p><p>I try not to let my panic show. The Fallen pegged me that early? I definitely didn't see her in the park that day, and I was using [Observe] on everyone.</p><p>No, there's no need to panic. I'm a higher level than Raynare is. I don't remember how she compares to the others, but I'm a Gamer, I hit far above my weight class anyways. Four Fallen Angels roughly at my level shouldn't be a threat. Their bosses maybe, but not them.</p><p>"Oh right," I respond after probably just a touch too long. "I didn't realize anyone noticed that, besides the girl I was with. I ended up adopting the cat, she's doing great."</p><p>Aika, having seen Yua the past couple times she's come over, has a small expression of recognition, like a question had just been answered for her.</p><p>"That only proves my point even further," Yuuma says. "Not only did you rescue the poor kitten, but you brought it into your home. That makes me want to date you even more." I'll give Raynare this much, she's a good actor.</p><p>I'm a little hesitant to just walk into a trap though. "Well, normally I'd love to go on a date with a pretty girl like you," I start. "But I already have a date this weekend, with the girl that was there when I found Yu-"</p><p>"Are you two going out?" Yuuma interrupts.</p><p>"Uhh. No, not technically? I mean if the date goes well then-"</p><p>She interrupts me again. "Then it's fine, isn't it? Please, just give me a chance. Just one date." She almost begs me.</p><p>It's well hidden, but I can see a bit of irritation in her eyes. She's a good actor, but not a perfect one. Denying her might not be worth it. Worst case scenario she pulls out a light spear right here and that puts Aika and Atsuko at risk. Dammit.</p><p>"I guess that's fine," I say half heartedly. "Saturday evening at the plaza? We can do dinner and a movie."</p><p>"Oh thank you Axton," she says, her face lighting up. She bows lightly again. "I'll see you this Saturday then. Don't be late!" I nod and she heads back the way she came, disappearing around the corner.</p><p>There's a moment of awkward silence between the three of us. "So that just happened I guess," I say to break the ice.</p><p>"Are you sure that's okay Axton?" Atsuko brings up. "If you're going on a date with Hanakai I don't think you should be agreeing to date another girl."</p><p>Aika rolls her eyes a little, but also looks at me questiongly. From her perspective, I just almost ruined a free date with a pretty girl, and she's wondering why.</p><p>"Well, she wasn't entirely wrong in that me and Hanakai aren't a couple yet," I say. "But more importantly, I had a feeling she wouldn't take no for an answer. Hopefully by agreeing to the date I can let her get it out of her system and then let her down easily."</p><p>Atsuko doesn't look convinced, but Aika jumps in with a well timed subject change. "But you and Hanakai, huh? You just transferred in this week and already you have a date with one of the student council members. That's pretty impressive."</p><p>I smile wryly. "We met when I found Yua, and she even gave her her name. She's pretty and nice and seemed interested in me too so I asked her on a date. If something comes of it, great. If not, oh well, I had a date with a pretty girl." I grin teasingly. "Why, are you jealous?"</p><p>Aika thinks about that. "Maybe a little bit," she says, surprising me. Atsuko also looks at Aika with an expression of surprise. I drop my mask a bit and look at her with an expression of concern. Was she actually feeling jealous since she didn't get a date? Her eyes meet mine before she shakes her head a little bit before she looks at Atsuko and then back at me. Ahh, she's just trying to rope in Atsuko. This girl never stops plotting.</p><p>"But then again," she continues. "The three of us went on a date already so it's fine."</p><p>"That wasn't a date, was it?" Atsuko protests, unsure. "I mean, it was three of us."</p><p>"You can have a date with three people," I point out. "Nothing wrong with that, so long as everyone agrees."</p><p>She frowns and turns to Aika. "Back me up Aika, you can't have a date with three people right?"</p><p>"I'm with Axton on this one actually," Aika says. "I mean, doesn't it sound nice? A hunky guy on one side, and a beautiful girl with great boobs on the other?" I notice that Atsuko is between Aika and I when she says this, and judging from the way she glances at the two of us, Atsuko notices as well.</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p><strong>Perk rewarded for 50 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>[A Worthy Addition] - Increases Affection gain with dragons and draconic beings by 20%</strong></p><p>Even without her gear unlocked she still gives me a dragon related perk? I'll gladly take it. There are too many stupidly powerful dragons in this setting, so increasing affection with them is good.</p><p>Atsuko shakes her head. "No, what we did wasn't a date. Because if it was a date, it means we can't do it again if Axton starts dating Hanakai." Her face is furiously red and she refuses to look at either of us.</p><p>Aika pulls her in for a hug, wrapping her arms around the other girls head and pulling her into her chest. "Ooh, you're so cute Atsuko!"</p><p>Atsuko seems torn between fighting back in embarrassment and getting distracted by being shoved into Aika's cleavage. I smile as I watch their antics.</p><p>I might have a sadistic Fallen Angel after my head now, but it was worth it for moments like this.</p><p>Besides, it just means I have to kill some annoying birds. No problem at all.</p><p>When I get home I find Kyu and Yua, who had both stayed home all day, watching TV. Yua rushes me as soon as I open the door and climbs up my shoulder to lick my face. "<em>Hi Papa! Yua missed you!</em>"</p><p>"I missed you too Yua. In fact, you know what? Starting tomorrow, you can start coming with me to school." Is that a good idea? Probably not. Do I care? Definitely not. She'll be safe, she'll have fun, and with Raynare after me, my act as a mundane student was going to come to an end soon anyways.</p><p>"<em>Really? Yaaaaaay!"</em> She hops off my shoulder and starts running in circles around the room, unable to contain her excitement.</p><p>"Anything interesting happen today?" Kyu asks, not bothering to get up from where she sat watching TV.</p><p>"Well, I got a date with Momo for tomorrow night."</p><p>"Nice nice."</p><p>"Me and Aika teased Atsuko a little more and got her a little closer to joining us."</p><p>"You guys have to be close on that right?"</p><p>"Oh, and I have a date on Saturday with a sadistic Fallen Angel who almost certainly wants to kill me."</p><p>That gets her attention. "Say what?"</p><p>I shrug. "It's fine. It's the starting signal for things to start kicking off, except my very presence changed her target to me somehow."</p><p>"So it's back in the dungeon tonight then?"</p><p>"No, I'm already stronger than her," I say. "Probably her friends too. No, the plan is to work on Alchemy a bit and then when it's late I'll sneak into their base and see if I can't dig up some info. I want to know why they're targeting me and what they know about me."</p><p>"I thought this world was meant to be dangerous, but if you can already take on Fallen angels then I don't see it."</p><p>I roll my eyes. "These are the mooks, something for the protagonist to sharpen their teeth on. You don't get Fallen Angels much weaker than these guys. Compared to humans, sure, they're very much a threat, but even the young and inexperienced devils here can take them on without too much of an issue."</p><p>"Whatever. If you're not worried then I don't care." Her eyes unfocus in a way I recognize now as her looking at the system. "Ooh, that actually triggered something. Here."</p><p><strong>New Quest!<br/></strong> <strong>Fatal Fallen<br/></strong> <strong>Objective: Survive your date with the Fallen Angel Raynare<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Objective: Take care of the Fallen Angels without alerting the Devils<br/></strong> <strong>Secret Objective: ?<br/></strong> <strong>Reward: 20k XP, 1000 Hunie, 1 Gacha Token<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Reward: 30k XP, 3000 Hunie, 1 Gacha Token, Dark Dagger<br/></strong> <strong>Secret Rewards: ?</strong></p><p>"Is it really a secret objective if it says there is one?" I ask her out loud.</p><p>She shrugs. "I mean, it doesn't say what it is, does it? And don't ask me what it is, because I'm not telling."</p><p>"Yeah yeah," I wave her off. She sticks her tongue out at me and goes back to watching TV. I sit down at the small coffee table in front of the TV and start pulling out ingredients and a notepad. Right now I don't want to make any potions, I just want to figure out what kinds of potions I can make with the ingredients I have and write down the recipes. Yua watches for a bit, but then curls up on my lap and falls asleep instead.</p><p>A little bit later, I get a text. I check it, and it's from Aika. I respond and before I can put my phone down she's replied again.</p><p><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>So what was with almost turning down the girl today?<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>idk, she just gave me bad vibes<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>And here I was thinking it was because you were thinking of Atsuko, but then you went and mentioned Hanakai.<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>But I get what you mean, she got kinda pushy at the end. You gonna stand her up?<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Somehow I get the feeling that that'll make things worse<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>You're probably right. Have fun on your date with the crazy chick then!<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Thanks, your support means so much<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>haha<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Oh right, I had an idea. Send me a sexy selfie with your chest bare.<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Sure, gimme a minute.</em></p><p>I gently pick up Yua from my lap and place her on the table. She grumbles in protest but doesn't fully wake up. I go into my bathroom and take off my shirt. I hesitate a moment before taking a picture. She specified sexy right? Fuck it, let's go all out. I strip completely, hop into the shower for a minute to get nice and wet, and hop back out. I wrap a towel low around my waist and take a selfie in the mirror. I send it to Aika before drying off and getting changed again.</p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>How's this?<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Perfect. You don't mind if I send this to some people right?<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>I mean, I'm assuming it's for your harem plan, so no<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Actually even if it's not for that I don't actually care so go for it<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Don't worry, it'll be put to good use</em></p><p>I shrug and go back to the living room. While I was sending texts anyways, there were some things I should take care of. First, I looked up a nice but not too fancy restaurant here in town and made a reservation for tomorrow night. Can't go too fancy. I have the money for it, but even if she is a rich girl, taking Momo to a super fancy place on our first date doesn't feel right. Just a nice place. Now, for the other thing.</p><p>"Yua, wake up," I say as I poke her. "You wanna say hi to Momo?"</p><p>"<em>Mama?</em>" Yua says, waking up. "<em>Yua wants to talk to Mama!</em>"</p><p>I guess Momo is Mama. Considering the two of us found her, that makes sense. "Here," I say, pulling up my camera. "You say something and I'll send it to her. She won't be able to understand you, but I'm sure she'll love it anyways." I hit the record button as Yua sits up and looks at the camera.</p><p>"<em>Hi Mama!</em>" she squeaks even as she speaks telepathically to me. "<em>Yua misses you and wants to see you again! Papa is really great and made Yua really strong so Yua can save lost kittens like her!</em>"</p><p>"Beautiful," I tell her. "I'll send that to her." I mean. It'll just be Yua's squeaky meows, but that's exactly what I promised her earlier. I send it off and get back to working on Alchemy recipes.</p><p>Over the next half hour I get a couple notifications telling me that Aika's plans are bearing fruit.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>+18 Affection with Muryama and Katase</strong>
</p><p>Atsuko's increase is easy to guess. But the other two are a surprise, especially since apparently the Game doesn't separate them. Or bother giving me their full names. I don't miss the fact that 18 is a multiple of six, meaning the two are likely perverts as well. Considering the context, that's not much of a surprise, but it's welcome.</p><p>A few minutes later I get a text from a number I don't know. I open it to see a message with a picture attached.</p><p><span class="u">???</span>: <em>i'm sorry Aika sent me the picture you accidentally sent her and she shouldn't have but i saw it so i have to keep things fair and you said they were cute so here</em></p><p>The attached image is obviously Atsuko, her shirt lifted to reveal her boobs and covering her face. Huh. I didn't expect this sort of thing from her yet. Though then again, she does have the exhibitionism fetish now. I send her a reply.</p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>No worries. You didn't have to do that but I do appreciate it. I'll treasure it forever.</em></p><p>She doesn't reply but I get another 7 Affection for her so it's fine. I text Aika to find out what happened.</p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>This is your doing isn't it<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Hehehe. So she actually sent a topless photo?<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Yeah. I mean she used her shirt to cover her face, but her boobs are clearly on display.<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>You didn't push her too hard on doing that I hope?<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>I barely had to push her at all, she practically jumped at the suggestion<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>That's promising. <br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>I also talked you up to Muryama and Katase, the Kendo girls I mentioned the other day. They're definitely interested.<br/></em><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>You're the best<br/></em><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>;)</em></p><p>We text for a bit longer but before long it's late and she's off to bed. I stay up for a few more hours, experimenting with what kinds of potions I can make now. At about two in the morning, I decide it's late enough.</p><p>I wake up Yua. "I have to go run an errand, so you stay here and be good for Kyu okay? I'll be back in the morning."</p><p>"<em>Okay Papa</em>," she mutters sleepily. She falls back asleep immediately. Hopefully if she wakes up before I get back she'll remember.</p><p>I equip my dungeon gear and activate [Sneak] and [Detect]. I don't bother with [Eavesdrop] for now because [Detect] has a larger range. I'll activate it when I get to where I'm going. I regenerate just enough SP per second to keep all three active, even counting the [Chameleon] upgrade to [Sneak].</p><p>I silently exit my apartment and take off across the city. It's a thrill to run over rooftops and leap from building to building, nearly completely silently. [Sneak] made even my running barely perceptible to even my ears, and [Chameleon] made me look more shadow than person.</p><p>All I know about where the Fallen are is that it's in an abandoned church. Thankfully, a quick search online shows that there's only one Christian church in Kuoh, and it's not too far away. It takes me about fifteen minutes of high speed roof hopping to get there.</p><p>I stop before approaching it too closely. The building is right on the edge of my [Detect]. I don't sense anything yet, but unless they are standing up against one particular bit of wall that makes sense. Mostly I'm trying to feel any wards or watchers. I don't know if [Detect] will pick up on wards, but it will notice people watching, and hopefully cameras or other devices. I activate [Eavesdrop], get a bit closer, and then start scouting the outside of the building with both of those skills.</p><p>I pick up nothing. No people, no traps, no detectors. So, ready for an alarm of some sort to go off, I approach the church directly and slip into the back entrance.</p><p>I feel people now, but they're all below me. I sense seven presences, and four of them feel different from the way people normally feel. They must be the four fallen angels. None of them are moving, which means...well that they're not moving. They could be asleep or on guard or just reading a book.</p><p>Of the remaining presences, only one of them is moving. The other two are stationary in the same place.</p><p>[Eavesdrop] doesn't pick up anything, likely due to too many walls, or floors considering the direction, are in between us. However, [Detect] does reveal the trap door hidden beneath the altar, with a staircase headed downwards.</p><p>Keeping my skills active, I creep downwards. Down below is a hallway that the staircase leads to the middle of. Either end of the hall turns in a right angle, both in the same direction. Lining the outside walls are doors, none of which are labeled. On the inside wall there's just a single set of double doors. There's supposed to be a ritual room down here, and my money is on that one being the room.</p><p>The four Fallen presences are all either in that room or on the other side of it. The two stationary human presences are on the left side, and the moving one is on the right. I can hear the sound of light humming with [Eavesdrop], and considering it's just the one source I hear, I'm guessing it's from the one on the right. They're moving at a relatively slow pace in my direction. Probably a patrol.</p><p>Imagine having to patrol your own secret base. It must suck to work for the Fallen Angels.</p><p>I silently make my way to the closest door and try it. It's unlocked. I slip in and look around. Or I attempt to, but it's pitch black. Thankfully, the HuniePhone has a flashlight function. Thank god for smartphones.</p><p>I turn it on, careful to keep it away from the door, and look around the room. It looks like some sort of storage room. And on one side of the room, I see a handful of guns and blade hilts.</p><p>
  <strong>Light Gun<br/>Gun that fires light bullets. 50MP per shot. Shots do WIS Holy damage.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Light Sword<br/>Blade hilt that can create a blade of holy light. 50MP to create a blade. Blade does WIS Holy damage.</strong>
</p><p>I grab one of each. They'll be useful if I have to fight any Devils. Or vampires, I did have that Vampire Mansion dungeon to do still.</p><p>I also grab a few silver cross pendants, five small bottles of Holy water, and a spare set of Exorcist robes in case I need to disguise myself later. Also because they boost the power of Holy attacks by 25%, which is very useful.</p><p>I don't see anything else of interest in the room, and the moving presence is starting to get closer, so I turn off the flashlight and wait for them to pass.</p><p>I sit silently in pitch black for two minutes as I feel the presence slowly approach the door and walk by it without stopping. Then I wait a couple more until I feel them go around the corner. I carefully open the door, peek out, and then go to the right, the opposite direction the person went.</p><p>Judging by the distribution of presences I can feel, and the path the patrolling person is walking, I'm pretty sure the hallway is one large square with a large center room and a number of rooms on the outside walls. The guard most likely did a full loop, or will keep doing full loops.</p><p>I check the three outside doors in the hallway with the staircase. None of them are locked, and they're all more storage. One has more weapons, but the other two have more mundane things like cleaning supplies or office stuff. I'm tempted to steal more, but I hold off. I'm here for specific information, I can't waste time with petty pilfering.</p><p>I turn into the right hallway and see that it's a bit longer than the front hallway, but it does turn left. So a big rectangle instead of a square. There is no door to the center room either, just doors on the outside wall. The presence that was moving seems to have settled near the other two human presences, and I can't hear them anymore.</p><p>I check all five of the right hallways doors. The first two actually lead to the same room, and it looks like some sort of training room. It's bare except for some lockers near the doors. I don't bother checking them and instead continue onwards. The next room is just filled with shower stalls, more lockers, and a couple sinks, I skip it as well. The third room actually contains three iron barred cells. I guess in case the Fallen have to kidnap someone and hold them for a while?</p><p>By the time I get to the last door [Eavesdrop] is picking up the four Fallen. Two of them are breathing in a way that I suspect means they're sleeping, but two of them are definitely awake, judging by their heavy panting and occasional moaning. I double check and look down the hall. Four doors, and each of the presences is behind one of the doors. But two of them are definitely masturbating, separately but simultaneously. No idea which ones, though neither of them are male, so at least I don't have to hear Dohnaseek jacking it.</p><p>Ignoring the urge to peek closer, I turn to the last door on the right, and to my surprise, it's actually locked. I double check to make sure the three humans are still all together, and they are, and I pull out my lockpicking kit to start picking the lock.</p><p>It's a tough lock, tougher than any I've picked in a dungeon, and it takes me nearly eight minutes of slow and careful picking, but I get it. I tense up suddenly as I realize that it might be magically booby trapped, but no one in the building reacts, so I calm down and enter the room, shutting the door behind me. The door closing cuts my range so now I can only hear one moaning voice. I guess that means the closest door is the room of one of the horny Fallen Angels. I ignore it for now and bring up my flashlight to see that the room is an office. Bingo.</p><p>There's a desk with an older looking computer, several file cabinets, and a bookshelf filled with binders and books. [Detect] also reveals a hidden wall safe. I open that up first, spending ten minutes decoding the combination before it finally opens. Inside is a stack of cash and a manila folder. I resist the urge to immediately grab the cash. So far I've only taken things that might not get noticed, or could be assumed to be one of the people here who took. The point is for them to not know I've been here. Plus, it's honestly not that much cash, only 100k Yen. I have four times that and I barely use it.</p><p>The folder is much more interesting. I pull it out and flip it open. The first page seems to be a mission brief. According to it, the Fallen are to monitor and investigate any and all Sacred Gear owners here in Kuoh. At the bottom is Azazel's signature. The next document is similar, but it describes a mission of executing any Sacred Gear owners, this one is signed Kokabiel. The third document is also a mission briefing, but this one has a picture paperclipped to it. The girl in the picture is Asia Argento, and according to the document signed by Kokabiel, she was due to arrive in town this Tuesday. The day after a Sacred Gear Extractor would be delivered, and they were to use it on Asia to gain her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing.</p><p>Yeah no, fuck that. No matter which way things went, the Fallen were <em>not</em> killing Asia. I quickly flipped through the rest of the documents. They were dossiers on Rias, Sona, and their Peerages. The couple that had a Sacred Gear were noted, but all of them had "DO NOT APPROACH" stamped on them in big letters. I copied all the documents with my Ink Copy Gem and then placed it back into the safe, closing and locking it again.</p><p>Next I turn to the computer. I consider turning it on...but it looks so old I just know it will sound like a rocket if I try. Instead I turn to the file cabinets and start digging through them.</p><p>Half an hour of careful searching leads me to the info I was looking for. I find reports on me and Atsuko. Atsuko is listed as having an unclear Sacred Gear due to her low magical potential, but that the signature most closely matches Twice Critical. She's noted as being a low risk and low priority, but still someone to be targeted.</p><p>The report on me is much lighter. Nothing strange in my background check, but they almost immediately noticed I was a weird blank spot in their equipment. It seems like their records don't have anything like it, but they did indeed still assume it was a Sacred Gear, and possibly one that's been awakened. The priority for me is set to high, but my risk is only medium-low. Apparently they concluded my Sacred Gear isn't directly combat oriented, and that my lack of magical signature means I'm either ignorant to how much that actually stands out or don't have full control over my Sacred Gear.</p><p>That report calms me down. They don't know anything about me, and what little they think they know is entirely off base. Good. Between Raynare's stats and how unprepared they will be for me, I feel comfortable going along with Raynare's date and reversing her trap.</p><p>I spend another twenty minutes looking through files but the only interesting thing I find is a roster of Exorcists they have here. Apparently there are twenty of them here, but they don't live in the church due to lack of room. Their addresses are not listed though. The three here must be the night shift.</p><p>One name stands out though. Freed Sellzen. If I remember correctly, he's a real piece of work. A true murderhobo to the core, picking the side that lets him shed the most blood. Too bad his address isn't listed, or I could take care of him tonight. Oh well. I'll just have to keep an eye open for a chance.</p><p>None of the other files are interesting. Expense reports, order forms, blah blah boring stuff. I'm honestly surprised they keep records like this. The Exorcists must do it, I can't imagine any of the Fallen bothering with the paperwork like this.</p><p>I feel one of the human presences start moving again and look at the time. It's about 3:30am, and an hour since I arrived. I quickly and silently put everything back to the way it was. I shut off the light on my phone and wait in the dark for the patrolling exorcist to pass. I can't tell if it's the same person or another, I didn't keep track of which one of the three it was when they were all together in the room, and [Detect] doesn't make a distinction between them.</p><p>After they pass and go around the far corner, I silently slip out of the room, making sure the door is locked. I notice that the four Fallen are all asleep now. The one I could still hear in the office had stopped mastubating five or so minutes after I entered, and it seems like the other one had stopped too. Considering I had been in the office for nearly an hour, it would have been a surprise if either of them had still been going.</p><p>The urge to peek on them was actually extremely strong. But even with them asleep and me making no noise, I'm sure that opening the door to their room will wake them. If they were human, I might risk it, betting on them not noticing. But Fallen, even low level ones like these guys? Too risky.</p><p>I also consider exploring the left hand hallway, but honestly I don't think I'm going to find anything as useful as what I already found. That's where the three awake humans are too, so it's not worth it. I'll just call it a night and leave it at that.</p><p>Making my way out is easy, and in less than five minutes I'm back to roof hopping across Kuoh and heading back home.</p><hr/><p>"Like I said, yes you can come to school with me Yua," I tell the small kitten a few hours later. "But there are some rules first."</p><p>"<em>Yay! Yua gets to go to the school place!</em>" She stops running around. "<em>Uhh. What </em>is <em>school anyways?</em>"</p><p>I sigh. Right, of course. "Well, it's a place where me and a lot of people my age go to learn stuff. This usually involves sitting in a room all day while an adult teaches us."</p><p>"<em>Can Papa nap instead?</em>"</p><p>"No, you're not allowed to nap at all."</p><p>She thinks about that for a moment. "<em>School sounds like punishment. Is Papa being punished for something?</em>"</p><p>I laugh. "Sometimes it can feel like that, but it's not. But that relates to the rules. I'm going to have to sit in one of those rooms for most of the day, and kittens aren't allowed in there."</p><p>"<em>So Yua can't go to school?</em>"</p><p>"You can. Or at least, I say you can. And Papa's rules are the only rules you have to follow. But it would be annoying to deal with the school thinking I'm breaking their rules by bringing you, so we're going to turn it into a game."</p><p>"<em>Game? Yua likes games! Like when Yua played with the weird bugs. Or the big bugs.</em>"</p><p>"Exactly. Except this time, you're going to play the sneaky game. I want you to explore the school without getting seen. Use the skill that I taught you as much as you can too."</p><p>"<em>Yua will be the sneakiest kitten ever!</em>"</p><p>"I'm 100% certain you will. Just be careful okay? There are some people there as strong or stronger than me there. So if you do get caught, don't fight them okay? None of them are mean and some of them are my friends, or I want them to be my friends."</p><p>"<em>Yua won't get caught!</em>" she protests indignantly. I pet her to apologize and she calms down.</p><p>"Just one last rule okay? Momo also goes to school there, but her and the people around her are all as strong as I am, or close enough. So you can't go say hi to her yet, okay?"</p><p>"<em>Aww. Yua wants to see Mama.</em>"</p><p>"I know. Just...not today, okay? She doesn't know I'm strong or special yet, and you being so strong and awesome would give it away. I'll tell her soon, and you can say hi to her all you want then." Yua nods in a sad understanding. "Okay. In that case, we're ready to go."</p><p>I finish getting ready for school and the three of us, including Kyu, leave.</p><p>Yua sneaks nearby on the way to school, out of sight of the other students. I don't see her much, but if I concentrate, I can tell where she is through our bond, which we also talk through. I give her tips on being stealthy and what sorts of things she should look for.</p><p>"<em>Okay Yua, this is it</em>," I send to her once we reach the school. "<em>When it's lunchtime I'll let you know and meet you on the roof and we can eat together. Until then, explore, be sneaky, and be safe.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes Papa!</em>" With those final words she zooms off.</p><p>"You think this is a good idea?" Kyu asks. There are people around so I can't answer verbally, so I just shrug. She probably won't get seen, and even if she does I plan on revealing myself to the devils this weekend anyways, so if they become a little suspicious of me it's not a big deal.</p><p>"I'm gonna follow her around a bit just to make sure," Kyu says in response to my lack of worry. "Plus, she's right. Sitting in classes is boring as fuck, I have no idea how you deal with it." I roll my eyes but flash her a grateful smile. She waves it off before flying in the direction Yua went.</p><p>Just one more day of school, and my date with Momo tonight, then everything changes.</p><p>Good, it's about time.</p><hr/><p>Koneko sat in the Occult Research Club room, eating an early lunch by the window. Classes today had been more boring than normal, and she was feeling hungry, so she slipped out early in order to have lunch. Neither the teacher nor the other students had paid any attention to her doing so. It was one of the benefits to being a part of Rias's Peerage, a minor mind control spell that allowed the devils attending the school to slip in and out of classes whenever it suited them. Koneko rarely spent any time in class these days.</p><p>Koneko looked out of the window into the clear blue sky, the sun nearly at its zenith. Sunlight had always made her sleepy, even before being reincarnated. The warmth of the sun was like the most comfortable blanket. Now that she was a devil, the sunlight only made her drowsier, though it was in a far less comforting manner.</p><p>She pulled her eyes away from the sky and went to take another bite of her food but froze. On the table next to her food was a small gray cat, frozen and looking at her, some of Koneko's food in their mouth in the middle of stealing it. The two spent a moment just staring at each other in surprise.</p><p>Simultaneously, they move. The cat to run, abandoning its prize, and Konkeo to capture the wannabe thief. The cat's paws slip on the glossy surface of the wooden table, slowing them down just enough for Koneko to grab them. Instantly, the kitten goes limp, not struggling. Koneko holds the cat so they're facing her, lower body dangling, and frowns. She hadn't heard nor smelt the cat approaching. She could smell them now, but the smell was fainter than it should be. Koneko narrowed her eyes.</p><p>The kitten mewed softly, and Koneko realized that they were even younger than she realized. With a sigh, the irritation at the attempted food thievery dissipated. In its place, confusion rose.</p><p>"Why are you here?" Koneko asked. The kitten's eyes glanced down at the food still sitting on the table. "That's mine, you can't have it." At her words, the kitten meowed sadly. "...fine. You can have a little bit. But no more stealing." The kitten perked up at that.</p><p>Koneko put the cat down on the table, where they sat down and patiently waited. She grabbed the bit of meat the kitten had tried to steal previously with her chopsticks and held it out for them. They gently bit the morsel of food before carefully eating it. She fed the kitten a few more pieces like this before they started purring and climbed onto Koneko's lap. Koneko pet them softly while she finished eating the rest of her food. When she was done, she picked up the kitten, brought them over to one of the couches in the club room, and curled up to take a nap in the sunlight coming in from the window.</p><p>A bit later Akeno Himejima and Rias Gremory walked into the clubroom and saw the two napping together. They shared a questioning look with each other before they shrugged. Neither knew where Koneko had found a kitten or why she was sleeping with it, but she looked comfortable and happy, so questions could wait for later.</p><hr/><p>Lunch isn't too far away, so I send a thought to Yua over our link. "<em>Lunch will be soon. Head to the roof and I'll meet you there.</em>" I'm pretty sure students aren't allowed on the roof here, but that just means I'll have some privacy.</p><p>"<em>Yua ate lunch already,</em>" she unexpectedly replies.</p><p>"<em>What do you mean you already ate? You didn't go digging through trash did you?</em>"</p><p>"<em>No! Yua found another kitty and they're nice and shared their food with Yua.</em>"</p><p>Maybe one of the devils or staff kept a cat around too, and Yua made a friend? Or maybe it's just a stray that one of the staff feed. Either way, I'm not worried. I'm more worried about Yua accidentally killing any older cat that tried to bully her. "<em>Okay then. Make sure to thank them for the food, and let me know if you're hungry later.</em>" She sends back an affirmative and I focus back on class just in time for the bell to ring. Since I have nothing else to do all of a sudden, I join Aika and Atsuko for lunch. So of course, conversation quickly turns lewd.</p><p>"So how many times did you spank it last night Axton?" Aika asks, a vulpine grin on her face.</p><p>I look at her in confusion, unsure of where she's going with this. Atsuko is already starting to blush, but I note that she's also trying very hard to look like she's not paying attention. "No more or less than usual," I reply vaguely, telling the truth.</p><p>"Oh really?" she says, almost sounding disappointed. "But I heard that you got some excellent new material last night. Surely you used that?"</p><p>I look at Atsuko again, and we accidentally meet eyes. She quickly looks away and back down at her food. Her blush deepens, but surprisingly she doesn't protest in any way.</p><p>I play along. "Well, I may have or may not have. And it may or may not have been very nice. In fact, it may or may not have been the best 'session' I've had in awhile. But I can't confirm one way or another."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>"I have to go to the bathroom!" Atsuko suddenly exclaims, standing up. Before either of us can respond she's out the door.</p><p>"Is she going to do what I think she is?" I ask, a bit surprised. I check her Affection, and it's at 75 now. Pretty high, higher than Aika was when she blew me.</p><p>Aika thinks over it for a moment. "Hmm. Maybe? As far as I know she's never done so before, but we've been getting her more riled up then she ever has before, so we're kinda in new territory here."</p><p>I pause. "Should one or both of us follow her?"</p><p>Aika shakes her head. "Nah, it's possible she just needed some cool air. If she's not back a bit before classes start I'll go hunt her down." She looks at me. "Did you really jack off to the picture?"</p><p>I shook my head. "Honestly, since me and you started sleeping together, I haven't felt the need. But if I wasn't having sex regularly, yeah I totally would have."</p><p>She grins. "Well, I get that I guess. How can your own hand compare to what I can offer?"</p><p>"Exactly," I agree, nodding. "Besides, at this rate, I'm not going to have to wait long for the real thing, rather than just a picture."</p><p>"True," Aika says, turning contemplative. "You're busy today and tomorrow. But if the three of us meet up on Sunday, I think we might be able to get something to happen."</p><p>"Sunday?" I think about it and realize that I honestly can't predict what my Sunday will be like. There are too many ways the Raynare thing can go. "Maybe. I might have something to do that day. I'll text you in the morning, I should know by then."</p><p>"Sure sure," she says. We keep eating lunch. About eight minutes later Atsuko walks in. If she just masturbated in the girls bathroom, I can't tell just from looking at her. Out of curiosity, I use [Lewd Scouter] on her.</p><p>
  <strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>Arousal: High<br/>Perversion: High<br/>Affection: 75<br/>Orientation: Bisexual(closeted)<br/>Fetishes: Boobs, Exhibitionism</strong>
</p><p>She's definitely horny, whether or not she did masturbate. And I'm pretty sure her perversion was only at moderate before, but I suppose me and Aika had corrupted her a bit more. Aika grinned at her knowingly, but Atsuko pointedly didn't look at either of us, and lunch was finished without any perverted topics coming up.</p><p>The rest of classes are fairly uneventful. Ms. Nakano's affection still doesn't go up, despite me continuing to use [Erotic Pierrot] on her whenever she looks at me. I even start using it on her when it looks like she's trying not to look in my direction. Not too much, I don't want anyone else to notice. But with another class of no changes, I come to the conclusion that I'll have to step things up and approach her more directly. I'll brainstorm it with Aika later.</p><p>At the end of class, I leave the classroom with Aika and Atsuko, only to run into Kiba in the hallway.</p><p>"Hey Axton," he greets me in a friendly manner. "You have some time? The club president was wondering if she could talk to you for a bit."</p><p>I blink. Rias wants to talk to me? Is my cover blown already? "You mean the president of the Occult Research Club? Why, does she want me to join or something?"</p><p>"No, nothing like that," he says. "Or I don't think so anyways. She just likes to meet people that catch her eye."</p><p>I glance at the time. My date with Momo isn't for a couple more hours. I shrug. "So long as it doesn't take more than an hour or so, that should be fine."</p><p>He smiles. "No it shouldn't take nearly that long. Come on, I'll show you where our club room is."</p><p>I turn to the two girls. "I guess I'll catch up with you two later," I say.</p><p>"See ya later Axton," says Atsuko.</p><p>"Have fun on your date tonight!" Aika calls out. The two walk one way and Kiba indicates the other and the two of us start heading towards the club room.</p><p>"Only here for a week and you already have a date?" Kiba asks, making conversation as we walk among the students, all splitting up to either go to their own clubs or to go home. "And to think they call <em>me</em> the Charming Prince."</p><p>"Do they really?" I respond with a polite laugh. "I guess I can sorta see it. But yeah. We hit it off pretty well so I decided there wasn't a reason to wait."</p><p>"Well if she accepted then I can't say you made the wrong call. Who's the lucky girl?"</p><p>"Momo Hanakai, she's in the Student Council," I reply easily. His gaze sharpens at me for just a moment before he smooths his expression back out.</p><p>"Oh yeah?" he says, his voice almost but not quite nonchalant. "How'd you manage to get so close to one of the student council members? I hear they tend to keep to themselves outside of school business."</p><p>Kiba is obviously suspicious of me going on a date with one of the other reincarnated devils here, but I don't know why. Did none of them date non-devils? I doubt it as I haven't gotten any pushback from Momo or even any of the other student council members. I have no doubts Sona knew I was going on a date with one of her peerage members, and the fact that it hadn't been called off or something meant I had her tacit approval, or at least there wasn't a rule against it.</p><p>Whatever. The date is happening and whatever he's suspicious of probably won't matter after tomorrow night.</p><p>"By chance really," I answer. "The day before I started here I was exploring the town, familiarizing myself with it, and I ran into her at the park. We found an abandoned kitten there and took it to the vet together. I ended up adopting her, the kitten that is, and we kept in touch. Mostly I send her pictures of Yua, which is what she named the kitten."</p><p>"Really?" he asks in a tone of voice I can't quite identify. "You just moved here and you adopted a kitten you found in the park?"</p><p>I shrug. "Sure. My parents moved overseas, this is my first time living alone. But my apartment allows pets, and running across an abandoned kitten as cute as her seemed like a good chance to not have such an empty apartment." I shoot him a serious look. "I mean it. She's deadly cute. There's no way I could have abandoned her."</p><p>He finally seems to relax a bit and chuckles. "I'll take your word for it." We stop in front of the clubroom, which is it's own building just outside of the school. "We're here."</p><p>I look up and whistle. "This is the clubroom? Swanky."</p><p>"It used to be a dormitory, but had been abandoned for several years. The club president's family renovated it and the school allows us to use it as a club room." He opens the door and leads me into the room.</p><p>In the room is the entirety of the Gremory peerage, minus Gasper. Rias sits primly on one couch, looking up towards our entrance. Akeno is facing away, doing something at a counter. Koneko is sitting on a couch a bit removed from the center of the room, and in her lap is a very familiar gray kitten.</p><p>"Yua?" I call out before I can even process the fact that she's here and why she is. Yua's head snaps towards me and she races out of Konkeo's lap and leaps up to my shoulder.</p><p>"<em>Hi Papa!</em>" she meows at me and rubs her head on me affectionately. "<em>Is school over? Yua missed you.</em>"</p><p>"I missed you too, but what are you doing here?" I ask her. I continue telepathically. "<em>Napping in someone's lap isn't sneaking at all you know.</em>"</p><p>Yua stills, nervous. "<em>...Yua forgot?</em>" I sigh, and turn to the rest of the room looking on wearing bemused expressions.</p><p>"I'm sorry about her. She must have followed me from home. I hope she didn't cause any trouble."</p><p>"<em>But Papa said Yua could come?"</em> Yua says, confused.</p><p>"<em>I'm lying to them</em>," I tell her. "<em>Like I said, kittens aren't allowed. They won't care too much, and my rules are more important, but so long as they don't think I'm blatantly breaking rules and that you're a normal kitten it's fine.</em>"</p><p>"<em>But isn't Yua much faster than a normal kitten? Yua couldn't have jumped up this high before Papa made her stronger.</em>"</p><p>I sigh internally. "<em>As long as I present myself like a normal person and you as a normal cat, they won't call us out on it. It's not polite to call guests liars.</em>"</p><p>"<em>...Yua doesn't get it.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Don't worry about it, you'll get the hang of the weirdness of social constructs soon enough. You just need more exposure to it.</em>"</p><p>"It's fine," Rias insists with a smile. "It seems Koneko enjoyed having someone to nap with. Please, sit down." She indicates the couch in front of her. I take her up on her offer and sit down, transferring Yua to my lap. As I do, I surreptitiously look around for a sign of Kyu. She said she'd keep an eye on Yua, so what happened to that? I don't see a sign of the diminutive Love Fairy though.</p><p>"I'll make sure to keep a better eye on her in the future," I say. Yua makes a small noise of protest but a scratch behind her ears has her purring in contentment moments later. I turn to Koneko. "Thank you for keeping her company, I hope she didn't bother you." Koneko shakes her head and smiles, but doesn't say anything.</p><p>
  <strong>+18 Affection with Shirone Toujo</strong>
</p><p>Huh. The game uses her old name instead of the new one Rias gave her. I wonder what the implications of that are. Something for later though, right now I'll just silently thank Yua for the easy Affection with the cute cat girl.</p><p>"If you want, you can bring her here while you're at school," Rias offers. "One of us is usually in the club room, so we could keep an eye on her."</p><p>Not even going to pretend you all attend classes like you should, huh Rias? But even so, her offer surprises me. "I'll think about it." I hedge.</p><p>Akeno walks over with a tray of tea and places it on the table in front of us before pouring two cups. She places one cup in front of Rias and another in front of me. I nod my head in thanks and take a sip. My mouth is filled with the most incredible tasting tea I've ever had.</p><p>"That is an extremely good cup of tea," I say. I nod at Akeno again. "Thank you very much."</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p><p>She smiles. "You are quite welcome. I pride myself on my tea, and reactions like yours are what makes it worth the effort."</p><p>"I certainly appreciate it," I say before I take another sip. I then turn my attention to Rias. "So, Gremory, to what do I owe honor of being called here for?"</p><p>"Oh?" Rias raises an eyebrow. "I haven't even introduced myself but apparently I don't need to?"</p><p>I think for a moment, did Kiba not say her name? No, he hadn't, only referring to her as the club president. Thankfully, I have an excuse.</p><p>"The other day my classmates described 'the two prettiest girls in the school' and insisted that I would know them when I see them. And looking at the two of you, I can now say that they were right, on both counts."</p><p><strong>+7 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong></p><p>The saying is true, flattery will get you everywhere. Both girls looked pleased at the compliment, though they hide it fairly well.</p><p>"Well, to formally introduce myself, I am Rias Gremory, the president of the Occult Research Club," she says with a hand on her chest. She indicates behind here, where Akeno is standing. "This is Akeno Himejima, the vice-president." She indicates the other two. "Your cat's new friend over there is Koneko Toujo, and from what I know you already know Kiba."</p><p>I nod in greeting at each one as they're introduced. "And I'm Axton Smith, but please call me Axton." I was really getting tired of saying that.</p><p>"In that case, call me Rias." The others in the room nod their head in agreement, indicating I should call them by their first names as well. "Those classmates you mentioned, that would be Hyoudou and Kiryuu, correct?"</p><p>I resist the urge to narrow my eyes at her. Are they keeping tabs on me? For what reason? No wait, they know Atsuko has a Sacred Gear, even if they don't know that it's a Longinus. Is it because I've become close to her?</p><p>"That's right," I reply neutrally. "The two of them have become good friends of mine quite quickly. They did a lot to help me feel welcome when I transferred." I take another sip of tea. "I'm surprised you know them, they said they'd never talked to either of you."</p><p>Rias looks away a little. "Well, the two of them also have a bit of a reputation," she says vaguely.</p><p>"You mean their open perversion," I say bluntly. Rias nods. I shrug. "I mean the only real difference between them and most people is that they're public about it." Also neither of them are as bad as the literal sex offenders of the canon Perverted Trio. "Honestly, it's rather refreshing."</p><p>"Oh?" Akeno speaks up. "Would you say you yourself are a pervert, and not just you, but everyone else is too?"</p><p>"Maybe not everyone, but the majority of teenagers for sure." I deliberately don't reply to her question about myself specifically, and from her expression she doesn't miss that fact. "But I feel that getting into a debate about what exactly constitutes a pervert and how many people can fit under that label isn't exactly the topic of discussion Rias had in mind when she asked me here."</p><p>"It's not like I had anything specific in mind," she says. "Kiba mentioned running into you the other day and I thought that I would like to talk to you myself."</p><p>"Really?" I ask skeptically. It's a thin excuse. "Sure, I liked talking to Kiba that one morning but I don't feel like we discussed anything of importance. I think it was mostly him telling me about this club actually."</p><p>"You're also a mysterious transfer student," says Rias. "That has a charm of it's own that drew my attention."</p><p>"Additionally," Kiba chimes in, "He has a date with Momo Hanakai this evening."</p><p>"Oh really?" Rias says with a raised eyebrow. "How does a transfer student get a date with one of the beauties of the student council so quickly?"</p><p>I don't like this grilling session, but it's too late to backout without being rude now, and I refuse to undo the work I've done on them so far just because I'm a little aggravated. "Because of Yua here actually," I say as I pet her. "We found her together and when Momo said she couldn't adopt her I decided to, so I could have a little company. And because she's so cute." Yua meows in response. "We exchanged numbers and hit it off. I don't know why everyone is so interested though."</p><p>"We're pretty close to the student council," Rias explains. "So of course we'd be interested when the new transfer student asks one out on a date."</p><p>"I suppose," I reply. "Speaking of though, if there's not anything in particular you need from me, I need to take Yua home and then start getting ready for said date."</p><p>"Of course, I didn't mean to impose on you," Rias says as I stand up. "Thank you for coming to talk to me for a bit."</p><p>"It was no problem at all," I move Yua to my shoulder and look at the others. "Thank you for the tea. I guess I'll see you guys later." They say their goodbyes and I walk out of the clubroom.</p><p>"<em>Is Yua in trouble?</em>" Yua asks in a timid tone.</p><p>"<em>No,</em>" I answer her silently, in case they're still watching me. I activate [Detect], not having had it on before because there were so many students around it was hard to keep track of things. I don't sense any familiars in my range, and before long I'm far enough away I can't sense the four devils, but my range isn't that big and I have no idea what the senses of their familiars are like.</p><p>"<em>If anyone found you, I'm glad it was Koneko</em>," I continue. "<em>They're a little suspicious of me now, but it's fine. My anonymity likely wasn't going to survive the weekend anyways.</em>" I shake my head. "<em>Come on. Let's get home.</em>"</p><hr/><p>"Akeno, what does the reading say?" Rias Gremory asked her Queen after Axton had left the wards that covered the club building.</p><p>Akeno walked over to the couch where Axton had sat and reached beneath it. When she stood up again, she had a small electronic device in her hand, approximately the size of a large cell phone. She read the display. On it were five entries. Four of them had names matching the four devils still in the room and a number reading that approximated their magical power. The fifth one did not have a label, or a number next to it.</p><p>"It gives an error," Akeno answered. "Not zero, an error."</p><p>Rias nodded. That was what she expected after the conversation she just had. Devices like the one Akeno held weren't common, in fact that one might be unique. Devils didn't have a need for a device to read a person's magical power, as it was something they could sense inherently, and applying a number to it wasn't very useful. In fact, when she had asked her brother for something like that, he had had to turn to his fellow Satan, Ajuka Beelzebub, to see if he had anything. As it turns out, Beelzebub had made something like that decades ago, but it had sat ignored and gathering dust to it's relative uselessness.</p><p>But in this specific scenario, it had been very useful in determining whether or not Axton was just the least magically inclined person to ever exist, or had hidden his magic somehow. The latter had always been more likely, but either case was something they hadn't come across before, and it was better to be sure. Rias had even specifically asked if the device would display if the person had zero magic, and Ajuka had assured them it would. So an error meant it couldn't read his magic at all, not that it didn't exist.</p><p>"So he almost certainly has a Sacred Gear then," Rias mused out loud. "Koneko, did you notice anything?"</p><p>"They smell weird," the small girl replied. "No, not weird. Muted. There, but hard to notice."</p><p>"They? You mean his cat as well?" Rias asked, surprised.</p><p>Koneko nods. "Yua is weird too. Too sneaky and too fast, especially for her age. Smart too. Understands human speech."</p><p>Akeno frowns. "She felt like a normal cat to me. Sona didn't mention anything about the cat being special, did she?"</p><p>Rias shakes her head. "No, she only mentioned it to say that's how Hanakai and Axton met." Her expression turned thoughtful. "So he has some sort of Sacred Gear that hides his magic, can either teleport or store objects, and can make normal cats stronger? It seems a bit much for a single Sacred Gear."</p><p>"So either there's something we can't think of that can accomplish all of those things, or he's using other means to accomplish one or more of those," Kiba posited.</p><p>"Either way, between that and the way he responded to our questioning, he's definitely at least somewhat aware of the supernatural," Akeno says. "Whether or not he knows about devils or who the devils at the school are, I can't guess. He seemed a little suspicious, but it could have been just him being defensive." She looked at her King. "Are you thinking of recruiting him?"</p><p>Rias nodded slowly. "I think so, yes. However he does what he does, I'm sure he'll be a great addition to our family."</p><p>"Yua likes him a lot," Koneko added. Rias smiled at Koneko, understanding what that meant to her.</p><p>"If I had to guess, he would make a good Knight piece," Kiba spoke up. "He walks quietly and is well suited for sneaking, so he's probably more suited for fast movement than brute force. Although, depending on what his Sacred Gear is or his talents are, Bishop might work as well."</p><p>"We can figure that out if he agrees to join," Rias said. "I'll need to talk to Sona before we approach him, she's also interested in recruiting him. We'll have to figure something out between us. Until then, Akeno, have one of your familiars watch him, see what he does, try to learn more about him. I want to be sure of what kind of person I'm thinking of inviting to our family."</p><p>"Oh? Do you even want me to spy on his date with Hanakai-san tonight?" Akeno asked with a teasing smile.</p><p>"No, I suppose we can give her some privacy on her date," Rias replied. "We can get any important details from Sona afterwards. You can start watching him tomorrow morning."</p><p>"What about Hyoudou?" Akeno asked. "Are we still going to recruit her?"</p><p>Rias frowned. "Maybe. But she's on the backburner for now. That does make me wonder if it's a coincidence that the two of them are friends."</p><p>"It's not that unbelievable," Kiba said. "He had no influence over what class he was put into, and if you don't mind Hyoudou's nature, she's an easy person to get along with. She'd have more male friends if Kiryuu didn't scare them off. And from what I've heard, Axton's closer to Kiryuu than Hyoudou."</p><p>Rias didn't reply, and instead thought it over before she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. We'll know soon enough."</p><p>Once again, a peerage discussed a certain mysterious transfer student after meeting with him. But this time, there was no Love Fairy hiding in the room and eavesdropping.</p><hr/><p>I'm in the middle of getting dressed for my date when I see Kyu float into the room. "There you are," I call out. "I was wondering where you had wandered off to. And why you didn't tell me that Yua was napping with a group of devils."</p><p>"She was? Oh shit, my bad. I uhh. I got lost. And then distracted."</p><p>"How?" I ask. "And by what?"</p><p>"Well the how is that Yua goes really really fast and by the time I set off after her I had no idea where she went. So I went looking. Which is how I got distracted. Did you know, you're not the only one to have gotten a blowjob in that supply closet? I came across three different couples having a good time in various places and at various times. I'm pretty sure one of them was a student and a teacher."</p><p>"I suppose that's what happens when it's a hentai world," I reply. "But why didn't you just use my familiar bond to find her?"</p><p>"Because I can't, dumbass." I shoot her a questioning look, and she sighs. "Look. Your soul is attached to the Game. My soul is sorta latched onto that connection. There's a few things I can do with that. The version of the Game you're attached to is what's known as a 'dumb' one. No real intelligence behind it, it's not much more complicated than an algorithm. So Love Fairies, or people like me, sorta act as a guiding intelligence for it. We filter out the bullshit, prompt the Game to do something sometimes, and overall just makes things run better. A dumb Game with no oversight can lead to some weird fucking cases."</p><p>"So how does this mean you can't figure out Yua's location?" I interrupt before she goes down a tangent.</p><p>"<em>Because</em>," she snaps back. "The point is that while I have a lot of access to your soul, it's mostly in context of the Game stuff. But technically, Yua doesn't fall under that. Oh sure, the Game made her your familiar, but it did that by connecting your souls together. When you want to locate Yua, you use that connection. But the Game doesn't directly oversee that connection, it influences her through you. And I don't have enough access to piggyback on your soul to search for her, that sort of thing has to be initiated by you."</p><p>"I see," I say, dropping the matter. "Speaking of quests, I don't suppose I can get one for my date? I have one for tomorrow's date, it only seems fair."</p><p>Kyu rolls her eyes. "One of those is a lot more dangerous." She focuses on the Game stuff. "But no yeah. It's not much, but here."</p><p><strong>New Quest!<br/></strong> <strong>A Night with Momo<br/></strong> <strong>Objective: Seduce Momo into your bed by the end of tonight<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Objective: Raise Momo's Affection to 100<br/></strong> <strong>Reward: 1000 Hunie, 1 Gacha<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Reward: 2000 Hunie, 1 Gacha, 1 Magic Sex Toy</strong></p><p>"Huh. Thanks, I'll take it." The gacha would be nice at least, and magic sex toy sounded potentially very fun. The objectives aren't too hard either. Momo's affection is already at 78, and getting her into bed really just needs me raising that a bit more and [Erotic Pierrot]. I finish getting ready. "Alright you two, I'm off!" I call out to Kyu and Yua. They say their goodbyes and I head towards my date.</p><p>The park isn't very far away so I arrive fairly quickly, even walking at a normal speed. She's not at the entrance of the park, though it is a few minutes before we agreed to meet, so I decide to head towards where we found Yua. Deciding it's better to be safe than sorry, and that I might as well level it while I can, I activate [Detect]. There are a few others in the park near me. It's an early Friday night evening after all, it's probably a popular meeting place or hangout. Four presences stand out though, because they don't register as human. I tense. Are the Fallen here?</p><p>I walk around the corner and see one of the non-human presences and instantly relax. It's Momo. The other three are a distance away and feel similar to her, so likely they're devils as well. I resist the urge to sigh. It looks like I'll be subject to the cliche trope of being followed by my dates friends. Oh well. I can live with a few voyeurs.</p><p>I wave and call out to Momo. She's wearing a white top over a purple sweater dress that shows a lot of cleavage and goes down to about mid thigh, where a few inches of skin peek out above her black thigh high socks. She smiles and waves back as I approach.</p><p>"You look amazing," I tell her. If I didn't know any better, I'd guess that she has a [Lewd Scouter] ability of her own because her outfit is just a checkbox of my fetishes.</p><p>"You clean up pretty nice yourself," she replies warmly. "So I'm hoping you have a plan for us?"</p><p>"Of course," I reply. "I've heard that the aquarium here is great, and I have a reservation for dinner afterwards."</p><p>"Good," she replies, satisfied. "Let's go then, shall we?"</p><p>We start walking towards the aquarium, and sure enough, the three devils follow us. They're actually fairly far back, but they remain just in range of my [Detect].</p><p>As we walk, I realize that I had yet to use [Lewd Scouter] on Momo, and I do so immediately.</p><p>
  <strong>Momo Hanakai<br/>Arousal: Low<br/>Perversion: Low<br/>Affection: 78<br/>Orientation: Straight<br/>Fetishes: Vanilla, Kissing, Handholding</strong>
</p><p>It's not surprising that someone with low perversion would have extremely tame 'fetishes'. Still, it fit her, and it made my job easier. In a natural motion I reach out with my hand and hold hers, intertwining my fingers with hers. And deciding to take a risk, I give her a small burst of arousal with [Erotic Pierrot]. She blushes a bit and squeezes my hand.</p><p><strong>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Sachi Genshirou</strong></p><p>Well that answers the questions of who are the three following us. Somehow I'm not surprised. It also doesn't slip my attention that they all gain six instead of five. Does that make them all perverts? Or are a couple of them rich girls? More importantly, it seems that none of them, Momo included, noticed me using the skill on Momo. Which is good. Them not noticing me use it on anyone else is one thing, but using it on them directly? It was a gamble but I needed to know. Her arousal is still low, but I can gradually increase that throughout the night, there's no rush.</p><p>We continue to hold hands as we arrive at the aquarium and for most of the time while we're there. We separate a few times to take pictures or when we look in the gift shop, but her hand would find its way back to mine soon enough. And everytime I did I raised her arousal just a little bit.</p><p>The aquarium is nice. A bit small, but the atmosphere is nice, and it's not too crowded. Most of the other patrons are other couples. By the time we make our way through and I buy her a key chain from the gift shop, I've gotten more affection with her and the three following us, and Momo's arousal is now at moderate.</p><p>The timing is perfect as well, as we head straight from the aquarium to the restaurant and arrive just a few minutes before our reservation. It's a fairly nice place. Not a black dress and suit sort of place, but definitely a step or two above a family restaurant.</p><p>Throughout dinner we chat about all sorts of things. About Yua, about school, about our personal lives. Making conversation is easy, even if I have to lie a lot and I'm sure she leaves a lot of devil related things out. Even knowing that, it's nice. I bump up her arousal every time we lock eyes, which starts happening more as dinner goes on. Before long, her arousal is at moderately high, and it's starting to show. There's a look in her eyes that wasn't there before, and she's shifting more then before.</p><p>After dinner we leave the restaurant and start walking hand in hand to the park. Our three spies, who were waiting for us the entire time outside, dutifully follow us. When we're at a relatively secluded spot, she stops and turns to me.</p><p>"I had a lovely time tonight Axton," she says, her eyes filled with infatuation.</p><p>"I'm glad," I reply. "I did too."</p><p>She hesitates for a moment, but then she moves closer to me, looking at me expectantly. Taking the invitation for what it was, I pull her in, lean down and kiss her.</p><p>Kissing Momo is entirely different from kissing Aika. Momo's lips are soft and uncertain, but they make up for it in enthusiasm. The kiss starts out light, but instead of petering out, it only deepens, as we both lean into it, wanting to kiss each other more. Before long our lips part and our tongues meet and we're making out.</p><p>Eventually we part, both breathing a little harder. She looks flushed, but extremely pleased.</p><p><strong>+6 Affection with Momo Hanakai<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Sachi Genshirou</strong></p><p>I'm glad our little voyeurs enjoyed the show as well. But more importantly, this puts Momo at 96 Affection. [Lewd Scouter] also shows her arousal at high. Yeah, I can make this work.</p><p>"You know, the night doesn't have to end just yet," I say. "My place is really close to here, you could come over, see Yua, and we could keep talking. Or do other things."</p><p>She looks a little surprised by my offer, but I can tell she wants to agree. I can practically see her weighing things in her head before she makes up her mind and smiles at me confidently, and a little seductively. "Sure. I would love to see her, and I would love to spend more quality time with you."</p><p>Walking hand in hand, we head towards my apartment. The three followers don't move to follow us at first, but they soon scramble to keep up with us.</p><p>When we arrive at my apartment Yua immediately runs up to us. "<em>Papa! And Mama!</em>" She scrambles up me to my shoulder before leaping for Momo, who catches her despite her surprise.</p><p>"Oh my, she's so energetic now," Momo says with a laugh. "Hi Yua, how have you been?"</p><p>"<em>Yua missed Mama!</em>" she meows, also sending her thoughts to me. "<em>Papa help make Yua strong so Yua is awesome now!</em>"</p><p>Momo holds her close to her chest. "Oh you're so cute and talkative," she coos.</p><p>I lead her further into my apartment. "Come, please. Sit down here and play with Yua, I'll make us some tea." I leave Momo in the living room and enter the kitchen, and see Kyu there.</p><p>"Things are going pretty well, huh?" Kyu says. "I've been keeping an eye on those Affection scores. How'd those other girls gain progress though?"</p><p>I roll my eyes. "Spying," I mutter, low enough that I can't be heard from the living room where Momo is. I start preparing some simple tea.</p><p>"Ah, a classic. Friends spying on their friend as she goes on a date. It seems you earned their approval at least. Did they follow you here too?"</p><p>I nod. I couldn't feel them now, the couple floors upwards I had to travel was out of range of wherever they had decided to stake out, but they followed us to here.</p><p>"Ooh, I wonder what they think about that. Their Affection hasn't gone down, but she's only been up here for a little bit."</p><p>I shrug. Whatever they think, I'll deal with. Tea prepared, I grab both cups and bring it to the living room. There I see Momo sitting at the coffee table frowning at her phone while her thumbs work away at it. Yua is curled up in her lap.</p><p>"Problem?" I ask as I come into the room.</p><p>She looks up and shakes her head, a smile instantly back on her face. "No, just my friends checking up on me."</p><p>I nod and place one of the cups I'm holding in front of her before sitting down next to her. "They sound like good friends," I say.</p><p>She sighs and leans against me. "Yeah. But it's fine. I told them they don't need to worry."</p><p>"Oh?" I ask with a teasing smile. "A boy you've only known for a week takes you to his home and you don't need to worry?"</p><p>"Nope," she asserts in a playful tone. She makes eye contact me, and the hunger that was there before is still present. "Because I want this. I want you."</p><p>I'm not one to pass an invitation so blatant, so I lean in to kiss her again. This time, in nearly no time at all my tongue is swirling around hers as we make out. I barely notice Kyu dragging Yua away to give us some privacy as our kissing gets more heated.</p><p>Momo swings her leg over me and straddles me before wrapping her arms around my neck and continuing the kiss. I place my hands on her waist and pull her in closer to me.</p><p>I feel her push herself down onto me, and one of my hands runs up her waist to start groping her boob. She gasps softly in pleasure into my mouth and she pushes herself closer to me in response. This time I feel her crotch rub into the erection making a tent in my pants.</p><p>She pulls away from the kiss, breathing heavy. I look down to see that her dress has ridden up, exposing her black lace panties obviously grinding on my bulge.</p><p>"My bedroom is right over there," I indirectly invite her, indicating the direction with my head. She takes a moment to gather herself before nodding. I'm personally fine continuing right here in the living room, but I suspect she'll be more comfortable in a more private feeling location.</p><p>I lead her by the hand to my bedroom. Once inside, she instantly starts undressing. She quickly takes off her top and her dress hits the floor right after it. I quickly follow suit, removing my shirt and pants. Her bra comes off and I don't wait for her to finish undressing before I move up to her and start kissing her again. One of my hands rubs her slit over her panties, feeling the dampness there and encouraging it.</p><p>Momo, obviously feeling bold, pulls my underwear down and gently strokes my erection with her fingertips. Not to be outdone, I slip my hand into her panties and start rubbing her directly. Her entrance is slick with arousal already, and she shudders lightly as I run my finger along it. Her hand tightens on my shaft and starts stroking it with more force.</p><p>Losing my patience, and determining she's wet enough, I guide us to the bed, where I lay her down on her back. My erection throbs at the sight of her, chest bare and heaving lightly, her face flushed with desire, her hair splayed on the bed. She smiles and raises her arms at me, inviting me in.</p><p>I quickly remove her panties, flinging them uncaringly away, and lean in to kiss her again as I line up with her entrance. When I feel lined up, I slowly push into her.</p><p>She moans loudly, her arms tightening around my neck as she tries to pull me in closer. She's so incredibly tight and warm that I'm surprised when I managed to get my full length into her. She cries out as I reach her furthest depths. Her legs wrap around my waist and her hips start moving in a hungry fashion.</p><p>My thrusts are shallow, restricted as I am by Momo's legs, but they're rapid, and I experiment with slightly different angles. I find one she responds strongly to and speed up, hitting that same angle over and over again.</p><p>She moans as I feel her cum, tightening around me even more. "Keep going," she breathes, surprising me, but I follow her instructions and don't stop thrusting into her even as she orgasms. She moans again, though I can't tell if it's another orgasm, or just a continuation of her previous one. Either way, the eroticism of it is enough for me, and my own orgasm comes like a dam breaking, releasing my seed into her.</p><p>Knowing I won't go soft, I don't stop rutting her, even as my ejacultion peters out. This time she's the one surprised, but only for a moment before an expression of ecstasy washes over her and her legs tighten even further around me.</p><p>I pull away from the kiss, now kneeling on the bed, and grab her by the waist. Using my new leverage, I thrust into her harder, hitting the same angle as before.</p><p>Her mouth no longer occupied by mine, she freely and loudly moans as I fuck her. The sight of her turns me on nearly as much as the feeling, as I watch her face light up in pleasure and her breasts bounce in time with my thrusts. I can't tell when her orgasms start and end, or if she's even stopped since the beginning.</p><p>An overwhelming urge hits me, and I speed up, feeling my second orgasm build. I thrust deeply into her one last time, causing her to call out louder and shudder harder, before pulling myself out of her and spraying my load onto her.</p><p>It's my first time cumming outside of a girl since coming to this world, and I'm surprised by the quantity and reach it has, my body seeming to use porn logic to spray strands of sticky cum to cover her crotch, stomach, and breasts.</p><p>Coming down from my orgasm, I lie down in the bed next to Momo's heaving form, where she's also recovering from her own throes of pleasure. She smiles at me.</p><p>"I love you Axton," she says.</p><p>My brain halts at those words, not expecting them, but reflexes kick in and I reply without any hesitation. "I love you too, Momo."</p><p>
  <strong>+4 Affection with Momo Hanakai</strong>
</p><p><strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 100 Affection with Momo Hanakai<br/></strong> <strong>[Bishops Blessing] - Increases effectiveness of magic by 50%</strong></p><p>She smiles and snuggles closer to me, and we spend some time like that, just enjoying the feeling.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AN: So a couple things. First, this one ended being longer than I expected, so that’s why it took a week to write. I had a certain set of scenes I wanted to get through though, so I didn’t split it in half, because I didn’t feel like either half covered enough story to be a satisfying chapter. Having just gone over it and edited it, I feel like maybe I was wrong on that. Oh well. The last half of the chapter took less time(mostly due to irl stuff) so it didn’t delay the chapter by more than a couple days.</p><p>Also, I tried out a new format for texting. I probably won’t include a ton of texting in the future, but it’ll crop up every now and then. Lemme know if the formatting is good or if I should figure something else out.</p><p>In worse news, things are gonna start slowing down in terms of update speeds. The next chapter shouldn’t be, or at least not much, but after that I might not be able to write as often. I currently work a night shift job that’s pretty chill and gives me plenty of time to write, but as I started editing this chapter I got an email from my manager asking if I can switch to the day shift starting next week. Switching to a daytime schedule on such short notice is gonna really fuck me up for a couple of weeks and I won’t have a lot of mental energy for writing, but the day shift is decidedly less chill and I won’t have nearly as much time or energy for writing. On the bright side, they have been talking about moving me to another, far better, department, and working there will give me a little bit of writing time. </p><p>Nothing set in stone yet though, but I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I’ll keep writing no matter what, I’m enjoying it so far, and I’m learning a lot, so even if it’s slower I’ll keep updating. </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. DxD: Tutorial 08</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-Changed chapter titling scheme to something more interesting. This has been intended for a while but kept getting put off.<br/>-Changed alchemy perk to updated skill description.<br/>-Fixed alchemy description at end of chapter 6<br/>-Fixed Kiba calling Atsuko by her first name in some dialogue<br/>-Fixed a few earlier potion descriptions after they received a background rework<br/>-Increased Tank boss DEX to reasonable levels<br/>-Changed Critical Detector to a perk, it’s presence as a non-leveled skill felt awkward.<br/>-Double checked stats and found a few math errors. Stats were only a little off(looks like I forgot a level or two worth of stat ups) but it’s been fixed by the end of the chapter, new stats will be shown at the start of the next chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Unfortunately, real-life intervenes. Momo and I are only able to lay comfortably for a few minutes before she sighs and gets up. I sit up as well and look at her in askance.<br/><br/>“I would love to stay the night, but unfortunately I can’t.” She says with a sigh. “Can I use your shower?”<br/><br/>I nod. “Sure, it’s right through that door,” I say, waving my hand at it. “I’d love for you to stay as well, or to join you in the shower. But if you have to go I get it. We all have responsibilities.”<br/><br/>She smiles and kisses me. “Don’t worry, we can have more nights in the future.” I nod and smile back at her, and she gathers her clothes and heads for the bathroom. I stare at her ass, which I’m only just now noticing is so round and perfect. I make a mental note to properly appreciate it next time.<br/><br/>As the bathroom door closes and I’m left alone with my thoughts, my smile slips away. Love, huh? I was aware of what 100 Affection meant. But such a genuine confession still caught me off guard. Did I love her back? I said as much, but that was more reflex than anything.<br/><br/>Thinking about it, I think I do. I genuinely enjoy the time we spend together. While I wanted to sleep with her, that wasn’t my only goal.<br/><br/>That being said, my love wasn’t the monogamous kind. And she might be a devil, but she’s a reincarnated one, so it’s hard to say what her feelings on that will be. That discussion will have to wait for another day I think.<br/><br/>Thoughts organized, I finally look and pay attention to a window that popped up while we were laying in bed.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>Quest Completed!<br/>A Night with Momo<br/>Objective: Seduce Momo into your bed by the end of tonight<br/>Bonus Objective: Raise Momo’s Affection to 100<br/>Reward: 1000 Hunie, 1 Gacha<br/>Bonus Reward: 2000 Hunie, 1 Gacha, 1 Magic Sex Toy</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>The two Gacha tokens are nice. I’ll spin that once Momo leaves. The Hunie is nice but honestly, I can get however much of that I need via my Alchemy so it’s a bit whatever. The magic sex toy is the interesting part. I look in my inventory and find it.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>Polymorphing Phallus<br/>This dildo can be connected to any dick. It will take on the shape and size of the connected dick, and all feelings are shared between the two. When the male orgasms while this toy is being used, semen also comes out of the dildo. To connect, simply wipe cum onto the dildo.</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>That is definitely a magic sex toy. Not one for me since I wasn’t interested in fucking myself, but I’m sure Aika would love it. Except it would be hard to explain. Maybe I should just bring her into the whole magic thing?<br/><br/>Shaking my head I take the dildo out. There’s some of my leftover jizz on my sheets so I go ahead and connect the dildo to myself. Instantly I can feel my hand holding my dick as the dildo grows to match my appearance. It’s honestly a little freaky so I instantly shove it back into my inventory. There. Future Axton can figure that out.<br/><br/>I hear the shower shut off and soon after Momo walks out, dressed. I realize I never got dressed and quickly step into a pair of shorts. She giggles but otherwise doesn’t comment.<br/><br/>I get up and walk her to the door. She spends a moment in the living room where Yua is, saying goodbye to her. At the doorway, I kiss her goodbye, and the kiss is sweet, but there’s no heat to it.<br/><br/>“Text me when you make it home,” I tell her. I know she’ll be safe, especially with three other devils waiting for her outside and only some low level Fallen in town but showing that I care is important.<br/><br/>“I will,” she assures me. As she leaves, and I monitor her with [Detect] until she exits my range before turning off the skill.<br/><br/>I go to my restroom to take a shower of my own and find a surprise waiting for me. Momo’s black lace panties hang from the towel rack. I grin, grab them, and turn around.<br/><br/>I go back to the living room where Yua and Kyu are. I toss Momo’s panties to Kyu. “Here, another set for your collection.”<br/><br/>“Score!” shouts Kyu and flies off, presumably to enjoy herself. Whatever it was she did with the panties.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+7 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>“<em>Why did Papa give Aunty something that smelled like Mama?</em>” Yua asks.<br/><br/>“Uhh. It was a gift,” I answer, trying to figure out how to explain it. “A gift from Momo. I’m sharing it with Kyu because Kyu really likes that kind of gift.” This seemed to be enough to mollify her because she didn’t ask any more questions.<br/><br/>As I decide what to spend the rest of the night on I get some notifications.<br/><b><br/></b></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+6 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/>+6 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/>+6 Affection with Sachi Genshirou<br/></b>
  </p>
</div><p>I was afraid they’d lose affection when Momo met with those three, but either they were actually into the idea that Momo and I had hooked up, or Momo had lied to them. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a way to find out right now, I’ll just have to hope it’s the former.<br/><br/>I shake my head and decide to start preparing for the date with Raynare tomorrow, starting with my Gacha tokens.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>Handmaid’s Dagger<br/>A once holy dagger, now corrupted. Deals 2x DEX damage, 3x Critical Hit Modifier. Steals SP equal to the damage done.</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>Shard of the Traveler<br/>A shard of a dormant machine god of the Sky who believed there is more to Life than Death. Crafting Material.</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>The dagger was nice, not as much damage as some of my others but if I need SP then it’ll be helpful. But the Shard of the Traveler is huge.<br/><br/>I pull it out of my inventory, and it is pretty much exactly what I expected. A shard of white metal, maybe about seven inches long and two inches across at its widest point, and glowing faintly with white light. I could feel the slight amount of power in it, proof that it either contained the power of the Light or was maybe even connected to the Traveler itself still.<br/><br/>And it’s a crafting material. A smile splits my face and I stuff it back into my inventory. I could use my crafting skill gem to get another crafting skill to use that on. I could probably find a lot of uses for it. A dagger made from the Traveler would probably be amazing. But I suspect Alchemy will lead to something good, so I’ll focus on leveling that first, especially since I can explore my options without using it.<br/><br/>So while Yua sleeps curled up next to me, I get to work on potions.<br/><br/></p><hr/><p><br/><br/>12 hours worth of trips to the dungeon to farm materials, a purchase of more vials from the Hunie Store, and an hour of potion crafting later, and I look back on what I’ve earned.<br/><br/>My farming has raised my Rogue class to level 91, unlocking two new skills and a perk in the process.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b><br/>[Poison Resistance](Passive) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Resists 1% of the damage done by poison</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>[Unnatural Rhythm](Passive) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Enemies find it difficult to track you in combat</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>Perk rewarded for 100 CHA<br/>[Smooth Operator] - No matter the situation you manage to look cool</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>Most of my combat-related skills have gone up a few levels, Yua is now level 78 despite sleeping the entire time, and I got a few bits of loot. Mostly Minor potions, but one of the drops I got from an Armored Hollow is a magically animated mortar and pestle that grinds up ingredients automatically, which has already proven helpful.<br/><br/>And speaking of Alchemy, my farming gave me the materials I needed to craft 100 Moderate Damage Potions, boosting my Alchemy to level 44. So close to 50 I could almost taste it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the right ingredients to make enough moderate potions to get me the rest of the way, and considering my date with Raynare is just a few hours away, not enough time to farm for them either.<br/><br/>With the time left before my date with Raynare, there’s not much I can do. I have my equipment, including my Poisoned Sheath that now applied Moderate Poison to my Ka-Bar knife. I have potions, and I have a plan. So, lacking anything else of importance to take care of, I take Yua out and try to get her [Sneak] level as high as possible.<br/><br/>It’s an early afternoon on a Saturday, so the streets are bustling. I don’t walk with any destination in mind, instead, I simply go where the largest number of people are. Yua sneaks behind me, trying to remain close to me without being seen by anyone else. She’s doing a fairly good job so far, or at least I haven’t heard anyone say anything about seeing her with [Eavesdrop].<br/><br/>[Detect] picks up a presence I could now recognize as a devil ahead of me, heading in my direction.<br/><br/>Still, I’m surprised when I turn a corner and it’s Sona Sitri. Of all the devils I thought I might run into alone, she’s near the bottom. She seems a little surprised to see me as well, but smiles politely and greets me.<br/><br/>“Hello Axton, how have you been?” she asks.<br/><br/>“Pretty good,” I reply. “And you?”<br/><br/>“I’ve been well,” she says. Her eyes sharpen just a little. “I heard things went well on your date with Momo last night.”<br/><br/>“Oh, did Momo tell you about it? Yeah, it was really nice.”<br/><br/>“Yes she did, and I’m glad she had zero complaints about you. I hope you continue to act kindly and respectfully towards her in the future.” She glared at me, communicating that there would be consequences if that weren’t the case.<br/><br/>“Of course,” I say. “Momo’s a great girl, I could never be mean to her.”<br/><br/>Sona studies my face for a moment, before nodding. “Good.”<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>“Are you free right now?” she asks suddenly.<br/><br/>“Sure,” I answer. “I’ve got a few hours to spare. Why?”<br/><br/>“Momo is not just a member of the student council, she’s also a close friend.” She starts walking and I follow her. “So if you two are going to continue to see each other, I would like to get to know you a little better.”<br/><br/>“Understandable,” I reply easily. Not to mention that getting closer to Sona was something I’m <em>very </em>interested in doing. Mentally, I communicate with Yua. “<em>Follow us. Sona likely has sharper senses than a normal person, so make double sure she doesn’t notice you.</em>”<br/><br/>“<em>Geez Papa. Yua knows how to be sneaky. Papa doesn’t have to say it so much.</em>” But I feel her slow down a little as she focuses more on stealth.<br/><br/>I decide to tip my hand just a little. “I’m glad Momo has people that care so much about her. Some of the others followed us around on our date last night.”<br/><br/>“Oh?” She sounds mildly surprised. “I heard that from them but they seemed to think you didn’t notice them.”<br/><br/>“They stuck just a little too close to go entirely unnoticed,” I claim. “They weren’t super obvious about it, but throughout the evening it became clear.”<br/><br/>We arrive at the park. Sona leads us into it. “And you didn’t mind?” she asks.<br/><br/>“Nah I get it,” I answer. “New guy transfers in and within a week he goes on a date with your friend? They were just looking out for her, and I respect that.”<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>Once again I realize that Affection is easy to gain with Sona as long as you just say the things she wants to hear. I suppose that’s technically true for anyone, but it’s really easy to guess what sorts of things Sona wants to hear most and convincingly say them.<br/><br/>“I’m glad you see it that way,” Sona says. “Many would take offense at being distrusted, regardless of the context.”<br/><br/>“Well ‘many people’ just react, and don’t think things through.”<br/><br/>“Very true,” she says before we arrive at our destination. Hidden away in a corner of the park I haven’t visited before now are a few square tables with benches on two sides of them, chess boards etched onto their surfaces. “Care for a game?”<br/><br/>Of course this is where Sona leads me. “Sure, sounds like fun.” We both sit down and Sona opens a small drawer located on the side of the table, revealing the game pieces. She starts setting up black pieces on her side so I grab the white ones. “Perhaps this is the American in me speaking, but I’m surprised that these pieces don’t get stolen.”<br/><br/>“It happens every now and then,” Sona says. “But most of the people that bother coming over here are the ones who play and they make sure that each table always has a set of pieces. It helps that the pieces are rather easy to replace.” She taps on one of the pieces, highlighting the hollow sound of cheap plastic.<br/><br/>“I see. Well then, shall we get started?” I ask as I move a piece forward. She smiles and immediately responds. On a whim, I use [Erotic Pierrot] to increase her arousal very very slowly, but keep it at a steady rate, instead of the spikes I usually do. Out of curiosity, I use [Lewd Scouter] as well.<br/><b><br/>Sona Sitri<br/>Arousal: Low<br/>Perversion: Low<br/>Affection: 41<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Facesitting, Group Sex<br/></b><br/>That really does explain a lot about her entirely female peerage. Even before I gender-bent one of her peerage members it was almost entirely girls. The biggest surprise is that her perversion is low despite her fetishes. Though they might be things she mostly ignores or subconsciously desires.<br/><br/>A handful of moves into the game she speaks up. “You’ve been practicing,” she observes.<br/><br/>“After our game, I felt that it was time to prioritize chess,” I say. I’ve been playing a few games every now and then on my phone against increasingly difficult computers and human opponents. I still don’t think it’s enough to beat her, but between me learning more than just the basics and my increased INT score, I’m hoping to impress her.<br/><br/>“You must be a quick study to have improved so quickly,” she comments, a tinge of respect in her voice.<br/><br/>“The internet has a lot of helpful resources, and I’m starting to feel a bit competitive,” I say with a grin.<br/><br/>“Hmph. Don’t count your eggs before they hatch. You still have a long way to go before you can compete with me,” she replies with a grin.<br/><br/>“We’ll see about that,” I reply. But sure enough, just six minutes later she checkmates me. The sting of losing is quickly soothed by the five INT points I gain for the match. The more skilled the opponent, the quicker I seem to learn.<br/><br/>“That was a good effort. Another week of improvement and maybe I’ll actually have to start trying,” she banters.<br/><br/>“You certainly know how to make a guy feel competitive,” I reply. “But don’t worry. I’ll work hard and one day I’ll beat you.”<br/><br/>She raises an eyebrow. “You don’t aim low, do you? Many have tried, but so far I remain undefeated.”<br/><br/>“That only makes me want to try more.” I grin at her. “Is there a prize for beating you?” I ramp up just a little bit harder with [Erotic Pierrot]. I know full well that chess games are how she fends off Devils who want to marry her, and beating her in chess is equivalent to engagement. But she doesn’t know I know that, and by upping her arousal right as she pictures the scenario in which I beat her in chess, I’m attempting to make it seem appealing to her.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>There’s a faint sign of a blush, even if [Lewd Scouter] still shows her arousal at low. Which is where I want it. Subtlety is the name of the game here.<br/><br/>“Perhaps,” she answers vaguely before changing the subject. “Another game?”<br/><br/>“Sure,” I reply easily. I got what I wanted. We reset out pieces and start again. This time I focus on longer-term strategies, though my ability to predict moves ahead of time is still pretty rudimentary.<br/><br/>A few minutes into the game, Sona speaks up again. “What would you say to joining the Student Council?”<br/><br/>I blink in surprise. “You mean even though I’ve only just transferred in?” I ask, buying time to think. I know for a fact that the Student Council is entirely made of her peerage. But what I don’t remember is the order. Does she invite them onto the Student Council to scout them out first, or has her mind been made up about me already? The context suggests the former, but I’m not certain.<br/><br/>“That doesn’t really matter,” she dismisses. “It only matters how well you can do the job. And I believe you could do a very good job.”<br/><br/>“What sort of work would I be doing?” I ask. Not that what she tells me matters very much. They actually do Student Council work I’m sure, but the Devil aspect is definitely greater.<br/><br/>“As you know, the Student Council doesn’t have traditional roles. Instead, each member does whatever suits them the most. So what are you good at?”<br/><br/>I think about that for a moment. If I draw on my experiences from my previous life...“I’m good with people. And data as well. Collecting it, analyzing it, and using it.”<br/><br/>“Sachi has been handling the brunt of the raw data and statistics so far, and I know she would appreciate help with that,” Sona replies. “And we do not currently have a dedicated person to interact with the student clubs. I believe Momo or Ruruko usually handles it currently. So you could do both of those things.”<br/><br/>“I see,” I reply. We continue playing the game in silence for a few turns. Things are starting to turn against me, a few bad predictions have put me in a poor position and Sona is capitalizing on it.<br/><br/>I think about her offer. She’s obviously interested in me, which is what I want. But joining the Student Council was a prelude to joining her Peerage, and honestly? I don’t want that. Once upon a time, I would have gladly joined her Peerage. But not anymore. I’m stronger than her, even if it’s not by much, and that was only with a week of training. There was just no benefit to joining a peerage, and while I’m sure I could mitigate the downsides eventually, it didn’t really make it worth it.<br/><br/>“I think I need some time t think about it,” I eventually answer her. I don’t want to decline the Student Council position outright. Even if I don’t join her Peerage, joining the Student Council could have its perks. And if today’s date with Raynare brings my more supernatural aspects to the attention of the devils, things will have to be reconsidered anyways.<br/><br/>“That’s fine,” she says. “Take some time to think about it. This isn’t a limited window of opportunity. Though I am surprised you aren’t hopping at the chance to spend more time with Momo. I know I keep her busy, and this is perhaps your best chance to spend more time with her.”<br/><br/>“And if it were a club you were inviting me to, that would be enough,” I say. “But a position on the Student Council should be treated more seriously, and more impartially.”<br/><br/>Sona smiles approvingly. “Good, I’m glad you take it seriously.” She moves her bishop forward. “Checkmate.”<br/><br/>I sigh, already having seen it coming two moves ago. I get another five INT though, which is very nice. “I knew it wasn’t going to happen today, but it will happen. I’ll defeat you one of these days.”<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>+6 Affection with Sona Sitri<br/>Perk rewarded for 50 Affection with Sona Sitri<br/>[A Sinful Soul] - Increases Affection gain with Devils by 20%</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>She blushes lightly again. “I look forward to seeing you try,” she says. She pulls out her phone and looks at the time. “Unfortunately I must get going now. Thank you for playing a few games with me, and for chatting with me.” She smiles more warmly. “And thank you for treating Momo so well. She’s been very happy since you asked her out.”<br/><br/>“It’s my pleasure,” I say. She says her goodbyes and wanders off. I remain seated, thinking for a bit. Yua zooms over and hops onto the table. She nudges my arm with her head and I smile down at her and per her. Immediately she starts purring in content.<br/><br/>We spend a couple minutes like that, just relaxing. Eventually, I get up. “Come on Yua. We’ve got a few hours left before it’s time. Let’s get back to training.”<br/><b><br/><br/></b><br/>“You’re going to come with me tonight Yua,” I tell her as I finish getting ready for my ‘date’ with Raynare. We’re back home now, having leveled both [Mentor] and Yua’s [Sneak] up to level 18. The XP cap on [Mentor] is pretty rough, but it’s getting better.<br/><br/>“Last night I spent some time with Momo for fun. But tonight the person I’m meeting is a bad guy trying to trick me. But since I know she’s trying to trick me, I can use that to trick her. So what I want you to do is to follow us secretly and keep an eye out for anyone else watching us. Got it?”<br/><br/>“<em>Yua will watch over Papa and the bad lady and make sure no one else does. Got it!</em>” She agrees, excited over having a mission.<br/><br/>“And what should I do?” asks Kyu in a teasing tone of voice.<br/><br/>I raise an eyebrow at her. “I mean if you’re up for it, I wouldn’t mind another pair of invisible eyes in the sky.”<br/><br/>“Pass. I won’t be able to watch your date that way. I missed last night’s date, I don’t wanna miss this one too.”<br/><br/>I roll my eyes. “Tonight’s date is going to pale in comparison, sorry. This is just a way to trap the other for both of us. But whatever. Just watch us then and let me know if you see something out of the ordinary if you don’t mind.”<br/><br/>“Sure sure,” she replies nonchalantly. “If I feel like it.” I sigh in response. At least I hadn’t been counting on her help anyway.<br/><br/>I finish getting ready and look at the time. Good, I can leave now and be a few minutes early. “Come on Yua. Remember, stay out of sight, and don’t forget to look up.”<br/><br/>It’s a short walk to the plaza. Having an apartment so close to the center of town is pretty convenient. On my way there I have [Detect] and [Eavesdrop] active, not taking any chances, so I sense her as an out of place presence before I see her standing in front of the fountain, waiting for me. I don’t feel any other Fallen in my range.<br/><br/>Putting a smile on I walk up to her. She smiles as well when she sees me coming, but there’s just something slightly fake about it. My mind flashes to Momo, and the genuine smiles we shared last night, and suddenly it’s hard to care about this fake date. I decide that I’d rather get this over with as quickly as possible, and start using [Erotic Pierrot] on her.<br/><br/>“Hi,” I say, even as I lightly kick up her arousal. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”<br/><br/>She shakes her head politely. Her outfit is simple but cute. A blouse that shows a decent amount of cleavage and a plain black skirt. “No, I just got here myself. Shall we get going?”<br/><br/>“Sure, there’s a movie theater not far from here, and there are a few different movies we can catch, I figured we could decide on one there.”<br/><br/>“That sounds fine,” she says. Together we head off towards the movie theater.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>-4 Affection with Akeno Himejima</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>What? Shit, is she spying on me? “<em>Yua, I need you to look around for a familiar. A weird bug of some kind. It might be flying.</em>”<br/><br/>“<em>Got it!”</em> came her reply, and I feel her dart around the edges of my detection range. I completely forgot that the Devils have familiars as well since they appeared so rarely. So of course Akeno would be spying on me. Did she see last night's date as well? No, there was no affection gain for her, and with someone like Akeno, there would have been at least a little. But she sees this one, the day after my date with Momo, and comes to the obvious conclusion.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>-3 Affection with Rias Gremory</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>And now she’s told Rias what I’m doing. Goddammit. I can only hope it’s a one-time loss. I can recover from that.<br/><br/>“<em>Yua found two colorful weird bugs</em>,” Yua reports. “<em>They’re watching and following Papa from far away. They didn’t see Yua though.</em>”<br/><br/>Right, Akeno had the small fat pixies or whatever they were. “<em>Watch out for more of them, don’t let them see you. Don’t do anything to them, just keep me updated.</em>”<br/><br/>The sooner this date was over, the better.<br/><br/></p><hr/><p><br/><br/>Raynare squirmed in the movie theater chair, annoyed. She wished she hadn’t agreed to a movie date. What was the point of a date where the two of you just sat in a dark room and watched a mediocre piece of entertainment? Not even alone, there were people all around them in the room. She just wanted this date to be over so she could kill him. Instead of paying attention to the movie, she started figuring out what restaurants would take them on a path that was likely to be deserted.<br/><br/>She had been so certain the date plan would work. She was a beautiful Fallen angel, she had tempted men into committing atrocities just for the privilege to be whipped by her. So any teenage boy with a Sacred Gear should be eating out of her hands and easily lured into a false sense of security. Even the other Fallen had agreed that it would probably work, though Mittelt had looked pained to do so. Plus, she didn’t mind the idea of dating around a bit. She enjoyed dominating more mature men, but dating as a teenager wasn’t bad either.<br/><br/>But Axton seemed defied her expectations. He’d been obviously hesitant to accept the date in the first place, which pissed her off, even if it was just bad luck of another girl being involved. Still, she managed to secure the date anyways, but he’d barely glanced at her cleavage and had seemed utterly uninterested in her as they walked to the movie theater together.<br/><br/>Raynare prided herself on her acting abilities, but it was hard to smother the rage at his casual disregard for her. Only the thought that it didn’t matter that he wasn’t interested, that he was still here and she could still lure him somewhere discreet allowed her to keep her cool. He wasn’t entirely disinterested in her after all. Something he showcased when the back of his hand ‘accidentally’ brushed against her thigh.<br/><br/>She shuddered lightly as another wave of warmth pulsed from her core. Then there was that. Even though she had been masturbating herself to sleep every night, she was feeling incredibly pent up. She hadn’t gotten laid a single time since coming to this stupid little town for this stupid mission. All of the Exorcists were either creepy, ugly, or scared off, and she certainly wasn’t going to ever sleep with Dohnaseek again. She was this close to approaching Kalawarner but hadn’t because Kalawarner had not been suffering a dry spell at all, and there’s no way she was going to let the other woman know she couldn’t get a man into her bed.<br/><br/>So of course, instead of her seducing the teenage target, his every touch loosened the lid on her tightly controlled libido, and it was getting hard to ignore. Axton was pretty attractive, Raynare couldn’t deny that, but she didn’t enjoy being the one getting worked up by the other.<br/><br/>Perhaps feeling emboldened by her lack of reaction to his poorly disguised touches, he forgoes subtlety and casually places his hand on her bare thigh, right below the hem of her skirt. Another wave of heat spreads through her and she reflexively spread her legs a minuscule amount before stopping herself. Once again she struggled to contain her frustration. <em>She</em> was the one to seduce others, not the one to be seduced. She didn’t move his hand though.<br/><br/>For the rest of the movie, his hand remained there, lightly running his fingertips across the smooth skin of her inner thigh. Teasing going higher, but never actually doing so. She could feel herself growing wetter and wetter with every passing moment.<br/><br/>The movie ended without her remembering a single thing about it, but she came to a decision. Fuck dinner, she was pent up and if Axton was going to offer himself up like this, she might as well work out some frustration. Besides, he’d be easy to kill once he’d blown his load.<br/><br/>When they exit the movie theater she interrupts whatever he was about to ask. “Before dinner, can I ask you a favor?” she asked. She noticed him tense slightly but wasn’t sure why he did so. “Can you come with me somewhere?”<br/><br/>He tilted his head in confusion, but there’s the hint of a cocky grin on his face. “Sure. I don’t mind a detour, there’s no rush.”<br/><br/>Raynare grabbed his hand and ignored the arousal that doing so sent through her. The original plan was to find a park or alleyway or somewhere away from prying eyes, but screw it, a love hotel would work just as fine for his final resting place. The others would probably bitch about it afterward, but at that moment, she didn’t care. She might as well get some use out of him before she killed him.<br/><br/></p><hr/><p><br/><br/>As Raynare desperately pulls me to where I presume the love hotels are, I check to see the fruits of my labor with [Lewd Scouter].<br/><b><br/>Raynare<br/>Arousal: Very High<br/>Perversion: High<br/>Affection: 0<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Sadism, Degradation, Dominant<br/></b><br/>Her arousal had been moderate at the start of the date, and I hadn’t been gentle with [Erotic Pierrot]. Her Affection hadn’t gone up at all, but honestly, I would have been surprised if it had. I imagine that the concepts of affection and sex are fairly separate for someone like her.<br/><br/>I start seeing signs for love hotels up ahead. “<em>Yua</em>,” I send, “<em>distract the weird bugs. Don’t hurt them, but make sure they’re paying attention to you and not me.</em>” Would Akeno find Yua acting like this suspicious after seeing her yesterday? Absolutely. But better that then lose more affection when we enter a love hotel.<br/><br/>“<em>Will do! Come here little bugs!</em>” Yua sends back, and I turn my attention back to Raynare. She pulls me into literally the first love hotel we pass.<br/><br/>“Yeah, as much as I would love to see you bone down on this girl, I have a feeling this is where things get violent, so I’m gonna go wait with Yua,” Kyu says, not entering the love hotel. I shrug and wave bye at her behind my back.<br/><br/>Somehow Raynare manages to check out a room in the short time that Kyu was talking. She drags me down the hall and up a flight of stairs to our room. “You know, if this is what you wanted, I live alone and not too far away,” I say casually.<br/><br/>“It’s fine,” she says as we enter the room. “This is faster. Strip, and get on the bed.” She starts following her own instructions, undressing rapidly, dropping her clothes on a pile on the floor.<br/><br/>She’s not even bothering to act like ‘Yuuma’ anymore. Or like anything but someone who is exceedingly horny and not willing to wait a moment longer. Still, this is what I was aiming for, so I comply without a word of protest.<br/><br/>“<em>Yua distracted them!</em>” Yua reports. “<em>Now Yua is hiding. The bugs can’t find Yua or Papa now.</em>”<br/><br/>“<em>Good job. Make your way to a nearby rooftop and watch for anyone scary-looking approaching the building I’m in.</em>” She sends back an affirmative and I focus back on Raynare.<br/><br/>She walks up to me with a strip of cloth, completely naked. Was that here in the room, or did she carry that around with her? She grabs my hands and pulls them above my head, tying them together with the cloth and fastening them to a peg I’m certain is there explicitly for that reason. I get a face full of boobs in the process and don’t hesitate to lean in.<br/><br/>I consider resisting being tied up but decide not to bother. I can break out of something like this in the blink of an eye, and it will make her drop her guard more. Moreover, I don’t mind playing the sub a bit, so long as things don’t get too out of hand.<br/><br/>She steps away, and her eyes roam over me with a hungry look. She runs a finger over my half erect dick, encouraging its growth. She grins and wastes no time in straddling me.<br/><br/>She doesn’t insert it immediately and instead rubs her already soaked crotch along my shaft, biting her lip. The feeling of her lower lips spreading and sliding over my dick gets it to full erection in no time and I reflexively buck my hips upwards.<br/><br/>She grins sadistically at this and slows down, teasing me. I consider bucking up more, but I want her to feel in control, so I let her do as she pleases. Sure enough, after a few moments of me not resisting, her grin fades a bit, and she pushes down harder on me but doesn’t insert it.<br/><br/>As much as I’m enjoying the teasing, I’m ready to get this show on the road, so I hit her with more [Erotic Pierrot]. It’s getting hard to raise, it seems like the higher their arousal is the harder it is to increase, but it seems to do the trick because she tenses a little before she slides herself up and then guides my cock into her waiting entrance.<br/><br/>I wasn’t quite ready for what it felt like to have sex with a Fallen Angel. Aika had been tight and warm in a natural, familiar way, and it had been a struggle to fit myself into her. Momo had been warm and inviting and I suspect her nature as a Devil made her as compatible with me as possible. Raynare though? She’s tight, the tightest I’ve had, and the way she feels around me is blissful in a way that can really only be described as deliciously sinful. Like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be and it’s amazing.<br/><br/>I groan in pleasure, and her eyes light up with glee. “You might not be a virgin,” she said, panting slightly. “But I’ll make you feel like one.” I ignore her banter and thrust my hips upwards. “Nuh-uh uh,” she chides me. “None of that. <em>I’m</em> in control here.”<br/><br/>I have to bite my tongue to force myself not to snap back at her. Instead, I settle for an expression of frustration, which judging by her smirk, she enjoys. But it works, and she starts bouncing up and down on my cock.<br/><br/>She starts out slow, savoring it, but quickly loses her self control and starts riding me hard. I thrust upwards in time with her and this time she doesn’t protest, only moaning slightly in time with my thrusts. The pleasure is too much for me, and before long I’m cumming, filling her up.<br/><br/>She looks down as she feels me fill her up, frustration in her eyes, but I cut her off. “I can go at least one more time,” I say, and I thrust up.<br/><br/>“Good,” she growls, in a way that Yuuma most certainly wouldn’t. “This time you don’t cum until I do.” I nod, and she keeps riding me.<br/><br/>Her movements become rougher as she starts raising her hips even higher, slamming herself back down on me in a loud and rhythmic slapping of flesh. It’s a good thing I’m not a normal human, or else this would probably be pretty painful.<br/><br/>Her movements become more frantic, and she starts moaning in a drawn-out fashion. Knowing her orgasm is near, I thrust harder up, trying to please her even as I feel my second orgasm approaching.<br/><br/>She cums first, slamming herself down on me. I don’t stop thrusting, and the feeling of her unbearable tightness shuddering around me quickly brings me the rest of the way and I cum again, once again unloading inside her. Fallen also have really bad pregnancy rates right? I hope so.<br/><br/>She slowly relaxes, catching her breath. Her expression is fairly satisfied. Mentally I shake off the after-effects of my climax and ready myself for her move. If she’s going to attack, it’ll be now as I’m tied up and coming down from an orgasm.<br/><br/>She pulls herself off of me, getting up. I can see my semen slowly leaking out of her and running down her thighs. “Yeah, I really needed that,” she says in a weirdly casual tone.<br/><br/>“Glad I could satisfy,” I say, trying not to look as tense as I feel.<br/><br/>“Could you do me one more favor?” she asks, and I ready myself.<br/><br/>“What’s that?”<br/><br/>“Please, die for me,” she says as she spreads her arms and a skimpy set of what looked like bondage gear appears on her body and black feathered wings spread behind her. A long spear of pink light is already forming in her hand.<br/><br/>As soon as the word ‘die’ leaves her mouth, I’m moving. Rather than waste time breaking out of the cloth binding my wrists together I simply stash it in my inventory, freeing my hands instantly. I roll off of the bed, still naked, directly at her, summoning a black key to my hand and pushing mana into it to form a blade.<br/><br/>Her eyes widen in surprise and she steps back, but a flick of my wrist sends the black key into her shadow and she freezes, unable to move. The spear of light sits in her hand, shimmering but unmoving.<br/><br/>I heave a sigh of relief and relax. “There. You sit tight for a second, I need to get dressed.” I turn away and start putting on my clothes. I didn’t really want to do this naked.<br/><br/>“I- What? Why can’t I move?!” she growls in frustration.<br/><br/>“Just a little trick I picked up,” I respond as I buckle my pants, not looking at her.<br/><br/>“Release me, now!” she demands.<br/><br/>I snort. “Oh sure, yeah lemme get right on that. Then I’ll stand nice and still as you shove whatever that is in your hand through my heart.”<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>-12 Affection with Raynare</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>Hah, she didn’t like that. Also, Affection can go negative? Good to know. I finish getting dressed and finally turn to face her. The frustration is clear on her face, but in her eyes, I can also see a worry. Like someone who knows they’ve fallen into a trap but isn’t sure how or what is going to happen. Her eyes roam the room, looking for something. Whether she’s looking for aid or watching for danger I can’t tell.<br/><br/>I believe in better safe than sorry, so I start equipping my normal combat gear. Her eyes instantly lock onto me when I do. “So you <em>can</em> use your Sacred Gear,” she says.<br/><br/>I shrug. “Something like that,”. I equip my Ka-Bar knife, which is somehow still my strongest one, and pull it out of it’s Poisoned Sheath. “Though truth be told, two nights ago was the first time I heard the term ‘Sacred Gear’. Or rather, I read it,” I lie.<br/><br/>I see confusion and fear on her face. “What do you mean?”<br/><br/>“See, when you approached me the other day, something felt off about you,” I answer, starting to lay the foundations of my cover story. “It was more of a gut feeling than anything. So I followed you. Felt like a stalker a little bit, but if you were on the up and up I’d just walk away, no harm done. But you weren’t on the up and up, were you?”<br/><br/>“You saw me transform,” she states, anger in her voice. I look at her. Is this a verbal trap? I didn’t actually follow her then, so I have no idea what she did directly afterward. But the frustration on her face is obvious to see, and I’ve already seen that her acting skills aren’t good enough to fool me.<br/><br/>“It was quite the surprise,” I confirm. “And so was your secret hideout, and what I found in there later that night.” Her eyes widen, but I continue without giving her a chance to speak. “I’ve known for a while that something was weird about me. But the documents I found in your little base? They were <em>very</em> informative. Angels and Fallen and Devils, oh my. Turns out, the world is a lot bigger than I thought.”<br/><br/>“That’s why you weren’t interested today,” she realizes. “You knew I was trying to kill you.”<br/><br/>“That, among other reasons. Though in part, your assassination attempt is the only reason I accepted this date. With you having no idea I knew you were trying to trap me, your guard would be down, and I could turn it around on you.”<br/><br/>“But why? Why not just leave?”<br/><br/>“Several reasons. I knew you guys would come after me if I stayed in town, and I wasn’t sure if you would chase me if I left. But truth be told, leaving wasn’t on the table. I wasn’t lying about that other date I had, and it went very well. I’d rather take a little bit of a risk with you than have to abandon that. Plus, like hell I’m going to let some little crows think they can get the best of me.”<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>-12 Affection with Raynare</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>“So what’s the plan now Mr. High and Mighty?” she spits out with a snarl. “You’ve got me, now what?”<br/><br/>I sigh. Truth be told, I’m not sure. The quest just says to ‘take care of the Fallen Angels’, which is vague. And more than just the quest, I’m not sure how I want this to turn out. Killing them would be simplest, but besides the quest, it wouldn’t offer any benefits. I could try turning them over the Devils, but that would fail the quest. Unless I capture them all first? I could maybe keep Raynare here, trapped, and try to capture the others. That’s riskier than I would like though.<br/><br/>“<em>Papa!</em>” Yua interrupts my musing. “<em>There are people with wings in the sky! One of them is holding something bright!</em>”<br/><br/>My eyes widen as I realize Raynare has been leading me on, buying time for her backup to arrive. Before I can act, the wall with the window explodes inward. I raise my arms to protect my face from the rubble and dive away to the opposite side of the room, taking cover on the other side of the bed. I feel three more Fallen enter the range of [Detect] and come to a stop where the wall used to be.<br/><br/>“This is a bit of a private affair,” I call out. “If you could fuck off and come back later I’d really appreciate it.”<br/><br/>“He’s on the other side of the bed!” Raynare calls out. “He has me restrained somehow, I can’t move!” I curse and draw Spur in my left hand and start charging a shot.<br/><br/>I feel the three move towards me and I fire a fully charged shot at them, clipping Dohnaseek and Mittelt. Mittelt cries out and all three of them hesitate for a moment.<br/><br/>A quick [Observe] shows that all three are roughly the same level that Raynare is. Dohnaseek and Mittelt are a couple levels higher, and Kalawarner is a level lower.<br/><br/>I start charging Spur again. “I’ll give you one chance to surrender. Stand down or I’ll put you down.”<br/><br/>Kalawarners expression turns enraged, while Dohnaseek’s face twists into a smile, and the two of them charge at me. I let off another fully charged shot of Spur, sending another brilliant beam of light across the room and outside. Dohnaseek dodges out of the way, but it clips Kalawarner. That puts both at roughly two-thirds health. Then they are on me and it was all I can do to dodge.<br/><br/>They close on either side of me, crackling light thrusting at me in rapid jabs. Between the bed, the walls, and Raynare’s unmoving body, I don’t have a lot of room to maneuver. My DEX is higher than theirs, but they work well together and don’t leave any openings. I charge Spur, waiting for a chance while I focus on dodging, but five seconds is a long time under these circumstances, and I took several glancing hits.<br/><br/>Seeing a chance, I allow Kalawarnar’s light spear to stab into my upper arm, catching her off guard. I take the opportunity to grab her wrist and her eyes widen in surprise as I pull and twist, slamming her into Dohnaseek. Once they’re both tangled up together I fire Spur, catching them both in its beam, taking them down to just a third of their health.<br/><br/>I store Spur in my inventory and instead pull out a minor health potion, restoring most of the health I had lost. My natural health regeneration will get the rest soon. The two Fallen are getting up now, and I decide not to let them. I rush in and swing at the closest one, Kalawarner.<br/><br/>She manages to deflect my blow enough so I don’t find her throat like I was aiming for, but the gash I open up on her shoulder still does nearly enough damage to kill her. As her eyes widen in a panic I push forward again, stabbing her in the stomach.<br/><br/>Dohnaseek slams into me, pushing me away from Kalawarner even as she falls over<span>, her HP hitting zero and the life leaving her eyes</span>. Unfortunately, I lose my grip on my dagger and it remains stuck in her gut. Dohnaseek and I grapple each other, rolling on the floor. I let go of his arm, allowing his hand to go for my throat, leaving me free to activate the hidden blade on my wrist and shove it through his eye, scoring a critical hit and killing him instantly.<br/><br/>I breathe heavily as I get to my feet and look at the sole remaining Fallen, Mittelt. She looks absolutely terrified and flinches when I look at her. She throws herself on her knees and raises her hands. “No no no no no I surrender please don’t kill me I swear I surrender-”<br/><br/>I interrupt her. “Go stand next to her,” I say, indicating Raynare with my knife. She does so, eying me warily as she passes me. I pull out my <span>Sentient Rope and throw it towards</span> the two. “Tie them up securely,” I tell the rope. It slithers around them, tying them awkwardly together. Mittelt has her face shoved into Raynare’s boobs and doesn’t look happy about it.<br/><br/>I look around the room. It’s a mess. Rubble covers everything except the corpses, which lay bleeding on the ground. I sigh and start cleaning up. I pull my knife from Kalawarner’s gut, wiping it off on her clothes before sheathing it. I pull the Black Key out of Raynare’s shadow and she instantly starts struggling, but the rope holds. Mittelt curses and yells at her to stop, but I ignore them. They have 50 feet of magical rope tied around them, they’re not getting out.<br/><br/>The only other thing of note in the room is the pile of Raynare’s clothes, which I store in my inventory. No reason to leave unnecessary evidence.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>Quest Completed!<br/>Fatal Fallen<br/>Objective: Survive your date with the Fallen Angel Raynare</b>
    <br/>
    <strike> <b>Bonus Objective: Take care of the Fallen Angels without alerting the Devils</b> </strike>
    <br/>
    <b>Secret Objective: Seduce Raynare<br/>Reward: 20k XP, 1000 Hunie, 1 Gacha Token</b>
    <br/>
    <strike> <b>Bonus Reward: 30k XP, 3000 Hunie, 1 Gacha Token, Dark Dagger</b> </strike>
    <br/>
    <b>Secret Rewards: 20k XP, 1000 Hunie, [Massage] skill</b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>Wait, why did I fail the bonus objective?<br/><br/>“<em>Papa, more people with wings are coming, but their wings are different,</em>” Yua tells me.<br/><br/>Shit. I feel them a moment later with [Detect], and recognize the feeling of Devils. Which would be why the quest failed. I guess the Fallen blowing the side out of a public building in the vicinity of Akeno’s familiars was bound to draw them here quickly. I sense four of them so I casually step up to the hole in the wall and look out at them.<br/><br/>Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba are all there, their guards raised. Their eyes widen when they see me. I sigh, and then beckon them in, stepping back from the hole.<br/><br/>A couple moments later, Rias and Akeno step into the room. Their eyes widen even further when they see the state of the room, two Fallen corpses on one side, and two more tied up on the other. They turn to me, confusion and wariness clear on their face.<br/><br/>I shrug. “It was self-defense?”<br/><br/>Akeno gives me a dry look while Rias just shakes her head. “You have a lot of explaining to do Axton,” Rias says.<br/><br/>I sigh. Looks like hiding under the radar is no longer an option.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Dang that’s like...three chapters in a row with lewds? I’ll write lewds where I can fit them but don’t expect them every chapter. Most chapters probably, though they might not get a very big focus some chapters. Not super pleased with the lewd scene this time though, the dynamics of it were weird. Axton couldn’t act like he wanted, and he didn’t have the trust or submission to Raynare to really enjoy it. But there’s not much I can do about that, so I’ll just have to try to make the next one better.</p><p>Anyways. I got a lot of comments about the Fallen and how they thought I should handle them, and it was all fairly conflicting. That scene went through a couple iterations with a couple different outcomes, but this is what I’ve settled on. I hope</p><p>I started my new schedule and spent several days in a row just struggling to stay awake for most of the day, but I’m adjusting. I have less time, but I still have time to write. Updates will keep coming. Thank you for sticking with me.</p><p>Also, shoutouts to KillerQueen for helping me bounce some ideas around and figure out stuff. Also shoutout to the Shiro’s Gaming Omniverse discord server, it’s a great place to discuss the fic with me and ask questions in the channel dedicated to my fic there.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. DxD: Recruitment Week 01</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes<br/>-Clarified Kalawarner's death(she definitely died, but there was room for misinterpretation)<br/>-Clarified sentient rope(it was too easy to miss that it wasn't a normal rope)<br/>-Increased Kyu's affection gain for gifts of panties(I somehow forgot to account for her being a pervert as well as a fae. Don't ask me how, I don't know.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm not sure what you mean by that," I deflect. "I was attacked so I defended myself. I even managed to capture two of my attackers instead of killing them."</p><p>"Yes, I can see that Axton," Rias says, starting to get exasperated. "But I'm more concerned with 'why' or more importantly 'how'."</p><p>I shrug. "I don't see how that's your business," I say. I was being deliberately obtuse at this point, it was entertaining to see her try to not be annoyed. "What are you, the supernatural cops?"</p><p>That seems to surprise her. "You mean you don't know?"</p><p>"I know you guys are Devils, whatever the hell that means," I say. "Oh and the Student Council too. And I know that these guys," I indicate the two bound, and gagged I note, Fallen angels, "have orders to not fuck with you guys. Also that superpowers are a thing, apparently."</p><p>Rias looks confused. "Superpowers? Do you mean Sacred Gears?" She shakes her mind. "Nevermind. The important thing is that no I'm not a 'supernatural cop', but Sona and I are responsible for Kuoh, including keeping it safe and the people unaware of the supernatural."</p><p>"Oh," I say, looking around. "Well. Good response time at least? But the hole in the side of the building is still there and only getting more conspicuous."</p><p>Rias sighs. "Yes, yes it is. Akeno, could you start taking care of that?" Akeno nods and hops out of the window. I feel a crowd down below with [Detect]. They move slightly when Akeno approaches but then become unnaturally still. Mind magic is useful stuff.</p><p>"As for you," she says, turning to me. "I think me, you, and Sona are going to have to have a chat in a more private location. Just let me take care of the bodies and then I'll teleport us."</p><p>"Oh, I can take care of that," I say. Her method of taking care of them is almost definitely destroying them with Destruction magic. But the Fallen might appreciate having their bodies back. Or maybe they won't. Either way, I'd like to keep the option available. So I lean down and place my hands on the corpses and put them into my inventory.</p><p>Rias blinks in surprise. "What did you do?"</p><p>"Stored them away," I answer. "Can't do anything about the living ones. Also, before you teleport us, wait just a moment."</p><p>I ignore Rias asking why and communicate with Yua. "<em>Alright Yua, sneaky times are over now. Come join us in the room. Make sure Kyu comes with you, we're about to get teleported and she's going to be annoyed if she gets left behind.</em>"</p><p>Rias gestures at her two remaining peerage members, who are still in the air a little ways away, to come in. When they enter, both of their eyes immediately latch onto the two bound Fallen before jumping to me, curiosity clear on their face.</p><p>Just then, I feel Yua and Kyu in range of [Detect] across the street. I track Yua as she backs up before dashing towards me and I can see her leaps towards the hole in the side of the building from the roof of the opposite building. I move to the hole and catch her as she comes in.</p><p>"Did she just leap across the street?" Rias asks.</p><p>"Yep," I say, not elaborating. Kyu floats in, and I'm surprised to see how tall she is, nearly full height. She sees the two tied up Fallen.</p><p>"Oh good, you didn't kill Raynare," she comments. "Too bad about the other girl, she was pretty hot too."</p><p>I ignore her and turn to Rias. Yua scrambles up my chest and takes her spot in my hood. "Alright, I'm ready to go."</p><p>All three of them are staring at me, surprise on their faces. Rias shakes her head. "You can explain that later too." She gestures and a large glowing magic circle appears on the floor, encompassing all of us. The circle flashes and I can feel it in my gut as we're teleported.</p><p>I look around at our new surroundings and I see that we're in the Occult Research Club room, where I talked to Rias just yesterday. The bound Fallen are in a corner of the room. Mittelt has given up and is letting her head hang down to rest on Raynare's cleavage, and Raynare is still glaring at me, but there's more wariness than heat in it.</p><p>"Make yourself comfortable," Rias says to me. "I have to go contact some people."</p><p>I do as she says and sits down on one of the couches. Kyu shrinks down and I feel her settle on top of my head. "Why does this feel like being sent to the principal's office?" she asks out loud. I don't respond because Koneko and Kiba are both watching me, having sat down next to each other on a different couch. "Ugh, I hate trying to talk to you when there are others around. Here, I held them back because you were busy but you have time now, so deal with it." With her words, several Game windows appear in my vision.</p><p>
  <strong>Rogue Class has reached Level 100</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>New Skills<br/>[Shadow Step](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>By stepping into a shadow and willing it, you can teleport to a nearby shadow. Range: 50m Cost: 10 MP per meter</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Ghost](Passive) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Erases your presence when sneaking even further. 1% reduction to all non-soul based presence. Increases the cost multiplier of [Chameleon] by two.</strong>
</p><p>Now those are some high-end Rogue skills. Short-range teleportation and an upgrade that makes my [Sneak] all but undetectable. I can't wait to level them up and improve them.</p><p>
  <strong>Rogue Class has been maxed, extra XP held</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Hard Mode Dungeons have been unlocked!</strong>
</p><p>Hard Mode Dungeons? Are those more Dungeons or harder versions of dungeons I've already done? I'll have to investigate that later.</p><p>
  <strong>Please choose a new Class</strong>
</p><p><strong>[Warrior][Saber][Archer][Lancer][Berserker][Gunner]<br/></strong> <strong>[Assassin][Ninja][Spy][Thief][Shadow]<br/></strong> <strong>[Mage][Summoner][Elementalist][Illusionist][Healer][Void Mage]</strong></p><p>Several classes stand out to me. Gunner, for one. I thought a class like that would be either a special class that I'd have to unlock somehow, or wrapped into Archer. The other Warrior specializations are roughly what I expected though, even if there aren't as many as I expected.</p><p>As if she can read my mind, Kyu speaks up. "You've unlocked more than just the basic classes, but there are specialty classes that require another class to be maxed out first. Like if you wanna be a Knight, you'll need to pick up either Warrior, Saber, Archer, or Lancer and max that out first. And maxing out Saber will let you then choose a more specialized sword-based class, like Samurai or Fencer."</p><p>Ah, that explains it. I keep going down the list of classes and examining them. The Rogue classes are also pretty much what I expected. I'm not sure what the Thief class could offer that I can't already do though, and the Shadow class is a mystery to me.</p><p>The Mage classes are also very standard, except for one. Void Mage. My gut tells me that that's a specialty class I normally wouldn't have access to. Is this because of my [Void Touched] trait?</p><p>Whatever the reason for it being there, I select it after just a moment of thought. All of the classes could help me, but Void Mage just feels like it's the best option by far.</p><p>
  <strong>Void Mage Class selected</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Held XP given to Void Mage Class<br/>Void Mage is now Level 25!<br/>New Class Skills</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Void Beam](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Fire a continuous beam of Void dealing 32 damage per second. Costs 1000 MP/s</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Void Sense](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>The Void is the opposite of everything. Feel the void around you, and feel where it is absent. Grants a complete awareness of your surroundings in a radius of 1 meter. Costs 10 MP/s</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Void Edge](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Coat the edge of a weapon or projectile in Void energy. Adds 32 damage to the weapon. Costs 1000 MP to apply, and lasts for 212 seconds.</strong>
</p><p>An attack, another sensory skill, and a weapon buff all at once? I really lucked out with this Class. Another window appears.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 100 CON<br/>[Adrenaline] - Boosts SP Regeneration after taking damage for a short time</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 100 STR<br/>[Fragile World] - Grants perfect control over your own strength. Allows for melee attacks that deal less than full damage.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 250 INT</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Magic Master] - Magic skills level 20% faster</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 100 WIS</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Measured Response] - You can undercharge your spells, making them less effective for a lower cost. Only works on MP based skills.</strong>
</p><p>A perk to increase how fast my magic improves, right as I get a magic class? Very appreciated. I take a look at my new stats.</p><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 125<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Void Mage(25/100)[57%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3180 (63.6 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 6520 (130.4 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3160 (63.2 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 159<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 133(158)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 338<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 326<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 212<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 135<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 237(247)</strong></p><p>Huh. INT is already almost caught up with DEX. Though both are over 300 which I'm very appreciative of. Honestly, my stats are pretty good overall, even my lowest one is pretty good compared to the Devils around me.</p><p>Out of curiosity, I check Yua's status to see how much she's benefitted.</p><p>
  <strong>Yua<br/>Race: Feline<br/>Level: 87[98%]<br/>HP: 1760 (35.2 per second)<br/>MP: 880 (17.6 per second)<br/>SP: 880 (17.6 per second)<br/>CON: 88<br/>STR: 88<br/>DEX: 175<br/>INT: 88<br/>WIS: 88<br/>CHA: 177<br/>LUK: 96</strong>
</p><p>She's looking pretty good. Still not a match for any of the Devils, though she could outrun most of them. She's far stronger than any kitten her age has ever been, probably even including supernatural kittens.</p><p>There's a flash of light in the far side of the room and Sona, Tsubaki, and Momo appear. Sona and Tsubaki's expressions are stern but otherwise flat. Momo smiles when she sees me, but it's clear that she's wondering what's going on. At the very least, she deserves to know, but explaining things to everyone is a good idea in the long term. I wave at her, and her expression softens, though Sona and Tsubaki's eyes narrow just slightly.</p><p>Rias, Koneko, and Kiba all sit on one couch directly in front of me, and Sona, Tsubaki, and Momo sit on the couch to my right. Yua stirs when she sees Momo, but I put a hand over her to tell her to stay here for now. Momo notices and waves, a slightly surprised but happy expression on her face, which Yua reacts to with a soft meow.</p><p>There's another flash of light and Akeno teleports into the room, taking a position standing behind Rias due to there not being any more room on the couch.</p><p>"This feels so serious," I quip, trying to lighten the mood.</p><p>"Then you correctly understand the tone of this meeting," Sona replies cooly. "So when I ask you to explain things, I want you to do so in a serious manner."</p><p>I sigh. "Yeah okay. What specifically do you want to know?"</p><p>"The Fallen. How did you end up fighting them?"</p><p>I nod. "After classes let out on Thursday, I was walking home with Atsuko and Aika. A girl approaches the three of us, and I can immediately tell something is off about her, so I was wary. She gave off vibes that reminded me of the dangerous creatures I've faced."</p><p>"Dangerous creatures?" Rias asks.</p><p>"Right, I should probably start further back," I say. "When I was younger, something happened to me, and since then I've started getting stronger and I have weird abilities. Because of that, I have on several occasions fought creatures that would fit well in any fantasy game or novel." All technically true, the best kind of true. "So when <em>she</em>," I point at Raynare, "approached me and I got that same feeling from her, it put me on edge, to say the least."</p><p>"So you could tell she was a Fallen Angel?" Sona asks.</p><p>I shake my head. "No, I could tell she was dangerous and wanted to kill me. Nothing more, nothing less. Discovering what she was came later. See, she threw me off initially, by asking me on a date."</p><p>This surprises the three to my right, though Rias and her Peerage already knew. I brace for Affection losses, but none come. Perhaps they're holding their judgment?</p><p>"Of course, I tried to decline at first," I continue. "Even if it weren't for my gut feeling, I had literally asked Momo out earlier that day, so going on another date with a different girl wasn't something to consider. Not without talking to Momo first at least."</p><p>Sona raises an eyebrow at my last statement but doesn't comment. Momo nods like she's agreeing with me, which strikes me as odd but I'll take that over her getting upset.</p><p>"But you ended up accepting," Rias points out.</p><p>"I got scared," I say. "When I tried to decline, she got pushy. It was obvious she wasn't going to take no for an answer and I wasn't sure what would happen if I pushed too far. Aika and Atsuko were right there with me. If she attacked, I could protect myself, but I wasn't sure that they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. So rather than risk it, I accepted, and bought myself some time to figure out the situation."</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Yuuto Kiba<br/>+7 Affection with Sona Sitri</strong>
</p><p>Huh. The chivalrous knight and the responsible leader appreciated that decision. Which tracks. I'm surprised I'm <em>gaining</em> Affection in this mess instead of losing it though. I probably have my [Cunning Linguist] Perk to thank for that.</p><p>"So she leaves, and I decide to investigate. I follow her, stealthily. I can be pretty sneaky when I need to be. After following her for a few blocks I see her duck into an out of sight area and transform from normal schoolgirl to Fallen Angel. I end up following her back to the abandoned church, where they've been holed up."</p><p>Sona perks up. "They? As in, all of the Fallen?"</p><p>I nod. "Plus about twenty stray exorcists. Later that night I snuck in, found the secret lair beneath the church, and did some spying. I found some documents that explained a LOT. Had to use some context clues to figure it all out, but eventually, it became clear to me that they were Fallen Angels, as in the biblical ones, and they were at odds with the Devils and the actual biblical Heaven. Also that they were here secretly, hiding from you guys, the Devils, but had orders not to mess with you guys for fear of sparking a large conflict, so I'm guessing things are tense right now between you two." I look at Sona. "Is that correct?"</p><p>"More or less," she says. "Things are tense between all three factions technically, though a full explanation can wait until you finish yours."</p><p>I shrug. "There's not a lot more to tell. I learned that they had a few missions here, and that was to observe and kill any Sacred Gear wielders. I was one of those targets. The documents didn't go into detail about what exactly a Sacred Gear is, but they thought I had one. So I put two and two together and assumed she was trying to kill me, and the date was to lure me somewhere out of the way and surprise me."</p><p>"So why didn't you leave town?" Rias asks. "Or come to one of us? You knew that we weren't friends with them, and we've been friendly to you. Surely that's the better plan than walking into a trap."</p><p>Approaching the Devils at that time probably would have been a good idea actually. But then I wouldn't have gotten to have sex with Raynare. Not that that had been worth it in the end, except as another step closer to Kyu's quest. Still, my mind is already supplying a good reason.</p><p>"Sure, even after learning you guys are Devils, whatever that entails, I felt like I could trust you guys. You've all treated me well." I glance at Momo and smile, and she smiles back. "Some especially so. But if things were really that tense between your two groups, then calling on you to help me out could have led to larger issues. And honestly? I wasn't scared of a single Fallen Angel. I've faced worse. So I thought I would take care of it myself, reverse the trap, and capture her. Which went fine, but then the other three Fallen came in, and things got a bit out of hand."</p><p>"A bit out of hand?" Rias asks with an eyebrow raised. "They blew a hole in the side of a wall and two of them died."</p><p>"Yes well, after an opening like that, I couldn't really hold back. I offered them a chance to surrender, and she was the only one to take it," I say, indicating Mittelt. "The other two came at me trying to kill me, so I responded in kind." I shrug. "This way, there shouldn't be any issues. You guys didn't do anything, they just bit off more than they could chew in coming after me."</p><p>
  <strong>-4 Affection with Raynare</strong>
</p><p>Oh, fuck off Raynare.</p><p>"Well, you are right about that at least," Sona says. "You being unaffiliated should ease things between us and the Fallen. I'll need to call my sister though. The death of two Fallen, the capture of two more, and the discovery of an entire group of stray exorcists is something that needs to be dealt with carefully." She looks at me. "That is if you are fine with me taking your prisoners?"</p><p>I nod. "Sure, that's fine. I don't know what I'd do with them anyway." She nods and steps away, a magic circle appearing in the air next to her ear.</p><p>Rias draws my attention to her by asking a question. "So you have a Sacred Gear then? A good one?" Gee Rias, I wonder why that's so important to you?</p><p>"Maybe?" I answer, maintaining my cover story. "The documents I found didn't exactly go into detail on what they are."</p><p>Momo speaks up for the first time. "They're artifacts that are connected to the soul of a human that grants them an ability. They were created by Heaven to bring miracles to Earth. Only humans are born with them, and they come in a lot of different forms."</p><p>My abilities are far too varied to be passed off as a Sacred Gear. So I could either limit myself to just a few things, or I could leave the origin of my abilities a mystery. Which is a no brainer, I'm not going to limit my options like that.</p><p>"Just one ability?" I ask. "Because I can do a lot of things."</p><p>"Like what?" Rias asks.</p><p>"Let's see," I think about how much I want to show off. "I have a hammerspace for storing things, I am unnaturally stealthy, I can pull strange objects out of nowhere, I can create a pocket dimension to enter it, and I can do a few things that I can only describe as magic spells. Oh and I can make magical potions."</p><p>
  <strong>+24 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p><p>That's actually kind of sad, seeing how desperate she is. I ignore her in favor of paying attention to Momo though.</p><p>"That is...quite a bit more than a Sacred Gear usually covers," she says, unsure. "They can sometimes offer multiple abilities, but they're usually different expressions of the same ability, or there are only a couple of them that are related in some way." She thinks it over for a minute. "Though I suppose most of what you can do is related to dimensions somehow, maybe even the stealth. The potions and magic could fit under just being able to perform magic, though being able to do so without being taught is incredibly rare."</p><p>"What do you mean by pulling items from nowhere?" Rias asks.</p><p>"I mean that every now and then I get the feeling that I can sort of reach out and grab something, and when I do, I end up with something strange. Sometimes powerful, sometimes not. I also get an instinctual understanding of what it is." I think it over before deciding fuck it. "In fact, I could do it right now. I have a 'charge' saved up if you want a demonstration."</p><p>All five of them perk up in interest at that and seeing their expectant faces, I go ahead and use the Gacha token I got as a quest reward.</p><p>
  <strong>Companion Gem(Leticia Draculea)</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Crush to summon Leticia Draculea to your side. Does not bind them to you, use at your own risk.</strong>
</p><p>Isn't that the vampire girl from Mondaiji? No wait, I'll deal with that later. Thank god the Gacha puts items directly into my inventory so I don't have to try to explain what that is, I'm not sure how they would take the fact that people are one of the things I can summon. I browse my inventory quickly for something suitable to pretend with and pull out the two Sending Stones I picked up as loot in the Dungeon.</p><p>A bit of sleight of hand combined with my actually pulling them from nowhere, and no one can tell I didn't just pull something into existence from nothing.</p><p>"These are called Sending Stones," I say as I show off the two smooth stones with faces carved into them. "They can be used as telepathic walkie talkies pretty much, they send a message from one bearer to the other."</p><p>Wait, telepathic communication? That gives me an idea. I toss one to Momo, who looks surprised but catches it. "There's someone who's been dying to say hi to you," I tell her, and I tuck the other one into Yua's collar. "Yua, you should be able to talk to Momo now."</p><p>Yua springs up in my lap. "<em>Yua can talk to Mama?!</em>"</p><p>Momo gasps. "Did she just call me Mama?"</p><p>Yua leaps off of my lap and collides with Momo, who hugs her close. I don't hear anything through the familiar bond, but I'm pretty sure they're talking now.</p><p>
  <strong>+12 Affection with Yua<br/>+7 Affection with Shirone Toujo</strong>
</p><p>I look over at Koneko who is looking at the scene with a small smile on her face. "So yeah. Stuff like that. It's how I got most of my equipment. Well, the good stuff anyway."</p><p>"What's the deal with Yua anyways?" Rias asks. "It's obvious she's not a normal cat."</p><p>"She is, but also she isn't," I say. "When Momo and I found her, she was one hundred percent a normal kitten. But as I grew attached to her, I began to worry about her. So, I made her my familiar. After that, she started becoming a lot smarter and a lot faster."</p><p>"So that's why we didn't notice anything strange," Akeno muses. "Whatever it is about you that makes your magic undetectable transferred over to her. We didn't even notice the absence of magic in her because small animals normally have so little it's hard to sense at all."</p><p>"My what now?" I ask, feigning ignorance. "You can't detect my magic?"</p><p>Rias shakes her head. "Not at all, and it's really strange. We managed to figure out it was an issue of sensing it rather than you just not having any, but for a time we thought you were possibly some sort of statistical anomaly, being the first person to not have any magic whatsoever."</p><p>"I have no idea what that might be," I lie. "I'd consider my magic to be one of my stronger points even." Especially if we're going on my stats and MP values. "Not that I know many spells, but they feel like they pull from a relatively deep well."</p><p>Rias looks like she wants to ask more, but a bright flash of light in the corner of the room accompanies the arrival of a girl with long black hair tied into twintails and wearing a pink magical girl outfit. She and Sona walk over to us.</p><p>"Holy shit, is that a magical girl?" I blurt out, acting like I've been caught off guard.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p><p>Sona pinches her nose while Serafall's face lights up. She spins her wand and strikes a cute pose, almost but not quite flashing the room as she does so. "Yes it is! Miracle Levia-tan is here to take care of those meanie Fallen Angels!". Curious, I use [Observe] on her.</p><p>
  <strong>Serafall Leviathan</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Race: Devil</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Level: 4,049</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>HP: 154,140</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>MP: 410,520</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>SP: 179,820</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>CON: 2,569</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>STR: 2,997</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>DEX: 5,649</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>INT: 6,842</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>WIS: 6,352</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>CHA: 3,382</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>LUK: 623</strong>
</p><p>It's a struggle not to physically flinch. I already knew she was strong, but holy shit, I did not expect this level of strength. Her MP value is six digits long. And Serafall isn't even the strongest being in this world. To distract myself, I follow up with a [Lewd Scouter]</p><p>
  <strong>Serafall Leviathan<br/>Arousal: Low<br/>Perversion: High<br/>Affection: 7<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Cosplay, Incest, Threesomes</strong>
</p><p>That information is much more interesting, though far less surprising. But it also told me two things. First, that I <em>really</em> want her in my harem, and second, Sona is how I get her in there. I already knew both of those things on some level, but seeing her really reaffirmed it for me.</p><p>"I can't believe magical girls are real too," I say, continuing the act.</p><p>Sona sighs. "They're not. This is my older sister, Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Great Satans who are the leaders of the Devils."</p><p>Serafall isn't discouraged by Sona's assertion. "Yep, I'm that too, but I'm a magical girl first!" She sighs exaggeratedly. "But I guess I am here on Satan business." She points dramatically at me. "You! You're the mysterious man who found the Fallen right?"</p><p>I nod. "Four Fallen and about twenty stray exorcists according to the documents I found. I also found documents saying they were here to spy on and assassinate Sacred Gear wielders. In fact, if there's any blank paper available, I can provide you copies of those orders. I didn't copy any of the other documents though."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p><p>"That's fine, I wasn't expecting any documents at all," Serafall says. Sona steps to one of the cupboards on the wall and pulls out a small stack of printing paper and brings them to me. I take out my Ink Copy Gem, which catches Serafall's attention, but she doesn't comment. I place the small red gem on top of the stack, and ink flows out of it, seeping into the stack of papers. After a few moments of this, the flow of ink stops. I store the gem, make sure the papers are printed correctly, and hand the pages to her.</p><p>Her expression grows more serious as she reads through the documents. "Geez, this is really a mess." She complains. A magic circle briefly appears on top of the stack and the papers disappear from her hands. "Alright, I'll just take the prisoners and the bodies and get to work on this."</p><p>We all collectively turn to the Fallen. They both look incredibly tense, nervously staring at Serafall. Serafall, still in business mode, addresses me. "I can feel the magic on that rope, if you want to keep it take it now."</p><p>I nod appreciatively at her and whistle. Instantly the sentient rope unties itself and wriggles its way back to me. As soon as one end reaches me I store the whole thing into my inventory.</p><p>The Fallen, no longer bound, don't move at all. I wouldn't either if Serafall was looking at me like they were. "The bodies?" She asks. I dump the bodies next to the two living Fallen. They both flinch when the corpses of their former compatriots hit the ground.</p><p>"Alrighty~," Serafall says, back in magical girl mode. "Thanks a ton for being so cooperative Axton, I really appreciate it. I'll make sure these bad girls are dealt with." She spins her wand and a magic circle appears beneath her and the Fallen. "You kids be good! I'll miss you Sona~!" She blows a kiss at her sister and then they disappear.</p><p>For a moment, no one moves or says anything. "Well then," I say. "That sure was...something."</p><p>Sona sighs again. "I'm sorry about her. She can be serious sometimes, but most of the time she's…" she trails off, unsure how to describe her. She shakes her head, giving up. "Never mind. It's getting late, and I think there's been enough business done tonight. Axton, please come to the Student Council room during lunch on Monday."</p><p>"I can do that, no problem," I answer. I'm not sure what she wants to talk about, but any free chances to increase my relations with that group are appreciated.</p><p>Momo stands up, still holding Yua, who is purring lightly. "I'll take Axton home," she says, looking at Sona.</p><p>Sona looks back at her, examining her expression. A moment later, she nods. "I suppose you are the only one that's been to his home. Go ahead, I'll see you tomorrow. I have some things to discuss with Rias."</p><p>Momo smiles at me and holds out her hand. I take it, and she walks us over to where the teleportation circle is. With a flash of light, we leave the club room behind.</p><hr/><p>After Axton and Momo teleported out, Rias turned to her peerage members seated next to her. "You two can go home as well," she said. "Akeno and I will follow you after we've talked to Sona and Tsubaki." The two of them nodded and walked to the teleportation circle where they left in a flash of light.</p><p>This left just Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, and Rias and her Queen, Akeno, left in the room. As one, both Kings sighed and slumped down a bit, relaxing. The two Queen's shared amused looks and stepped away to the little kitchenette to talk on their own.</p><p>"'I'll see you tomorrow' you told Momo," Rias said, breaking the silence. "Considering you live in the same house, are you implying that she'll stay the night at Axton's?"</p><p>"It was more permission than implication, but yes," Sona said.</p><p>"And you're okay with that?" Rias asked, sounding surprised.</p><p>Sona didn't reply immediately. "I think so, yes," she said eventually. "Finding out today that he's strong enough to take on four Fallen and dangerous enough that he seemed so cavalier about them trying to kill him and killing them back was a shock. But I've talked to him several times, and he doesn't seem like a bad person. Or at least, he's someone who likes us. I think the way he handled things today with us is an indicator enough that he considers us friendly at least." She sighed again. "Plus, Momo is absolutely smitten with him, and it's obvious that he cares for her too."</p><p>"I guess," Rias replied. "It's just pretty fast for that sort of thing, isn't it?"</p><p>"Well, they're both attractive teenagers with a large degree of freedom," Sona answered. "Plus, once Momo decides on something, she charges ahead without any fear. It was like that when she asked to join my Peerage as well. At first, she was just the girl I spent time with whenever our fathers discussed business. She would always ask me what it was like to be a Devil. Then, one day when we were both still pretty young, she declared that she wanted to be a Devil and join my Peerage. Her declaration stunned both of our fathers, who insisted we were too young. I didn't even have any Evil Pieces yet. She said she would wait then, but insisted it was what she wanted. Her father set some monumental tasks for her before he allowed it, trying to either discourage her or buy time for her to grow out of what he thought was maybe a childish decision, but shortly after we came here to Kuoh, she accomplished those tasks and received permission from her father, and I gladly accepted her into my peerage."</p><p>Rias laughed lightly. "I had no idea it was like that. To be honest, I thought it was her father's idea that she join your peerage. I wouldn't have guessed that she was so determined. I guess that makes more sense then."</p><p>Sona hummed in agreement, and for a moment, neither of them talked.</p><p>"I really want to recruit him," Rias spoke up, finally broaching the topic the two of them had been avoiding. "He's good, he's confident, and he gets along with my Peerage members."</p><p>"And Riser is starting to apply pressure," Sona added.</p><p>Rias nodded. "Yeah. I can't keep putting him off much longer, but my Peerage just isn't ready for me to use a Rating Game to get out of the engagement. With Axton, I think I can do it. He described his abilities when you were talking to your sister, and they're impressive."</p><p>"Of course you asked him about that as soon as I step away," Sona scoffed. Rias opened her mouth, an apology on her lips, but Sona waved her off and smiled. "It's fine. I'll get Tsubaki to fill me in later. It doesn't really matter how strong he is, I already want him in my peerage as well. Normally I'd be willing to pass on him, for your sake, but he and Momo are so close, and he could be very useful to my peerage as well."</p><p>"I could trade him to you after Riser is off my back," Rias suggested. "I'd like for him to join my peerage more permanently, but you're right in that he might be better suited for yours."</p><p>Sona nodded slowly. "That could work, assuming he agrees to it. You would have to use a Knight piece on him though. Or less than four Pawns, since I only have three available."</p><p>"Considering the knives he had, the speed of a Knight would probably fit him well, so that's fine. But if he's going to end up in your peerage, who should ask him?"</p><p>"I'll ask him on Monday when he comes to the Student Council room. You can talk to him after classes."</p><p>"Thanks, Sona," Rias said, smiling at her friend. The two sit in silence for a moment. "Do you think they're having sex right now?" Rias asked suddenly.</p><p>Sona's expression didn't change, but a blush crept up her face. "I don't know. Probably. Why even bring it up?"</p><p>"Just curious, I guess," Rias replied. "Nevermind. It's been a long day, I should probably get home."</p><p>"Right. I should as well." Sona agreed, thankful for the change in the subject. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then." The two girls said their goodbyes, gathered their Queens, and teleported away, leaving the club room empty.</p><hr/><p>Momo, Yua, Kyu, and I all arrive in my living room. Kyu, who was still on my head, flies off somewhere. Presumably to a better vantage point to watch us from. After I store most of my combat gear back into my inventory, Momo and I make our way to the couch, where we sit down next to each other, leaning into the other. Yua remains on Momo's lap and curls up to go to sleep.</p><p>For a while, neither of us says anything. We just sit together, cuddling, with my arm around her shoulders and her head leaning on my chest. Eventually, I break the ice.</p><p>"I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I had figured out before our date," I say. "I thought about it, but I thought the revelation would throw off our date, and I was really looking forward to it."</p><p>She shakes her head. "It's fine. I didn't tell you about myself either. I would have soon, but Sona wanted to tell you herself. The plan was to invite you to the Student Council room on Monday and tell you."</p><p>"Oh?" I ask. "Why would she do that? Just because I'm getting close to you?"</p><p>"That actually would be enough, yes," Momo says. "Sona is responsible like that, and we're not super secretive about being Devils. We regularly interact with humans as Devils to fulfill contracts after all. We just keep things relatively quiet. So with us being a thing, she would bring you into the loop, and just ask you to keep quiet about it to others. That way I wouldn't have to lie to you about things I have to do."</p><p>I'm getting tired of pretending to not know much about Devils. "You know, I was able to figure out some things from the stuff I read, but most of the stuff about the Devils was along the lines of 'do not mess with these people or there will be consequences'. So there's still so much I don't know about Devils. Can you fill me in?"</p><p>She smiles. "I'd be happy too." And she does. For the next hour, she talks about Devils and their society and how things work. She tells me about Peerages and reincarnation and how she joined Sona's peerage. She mentions the Fallen Angels and Heaven themselves, the current tension between them, and the history of the three biblical factions. Most of it was things I already knew, but there were details or interesting aspects that I either wasn't sure of or didn't know at all that she tells me about.</p><p>At some point during this, Yua gets up and wanders off to her food bowl before curling up in her bed to properly sleep, leaving just me and Momo on the couch. With Yua gone, Momo slowly shifts while she talks, and by the end of it, she's completely in my lap, her legs lying across my own. For the last couple of minutes, she's smirked lightly as she shifts her weight in just the right way to rub against me. Her smirk deepens as I start to get hard and she feels my erection pushing against her.</p><p>"That's a lot of information to take in," I say when she winds down, done with her explanation. "I think I've gotten the gist of it though, even if I'm starting to get pretty distracted."</p><p>"Oh?" Momo asks in a teasing tone of voice. "And what's distracting you?"</p><p>"The beautiful girl on my lap, teasing me," I answer in a similar tone. "It's hard to pay attention to anything else right now."</p><p>"Hard, you say?" she asks. She shifts her weight again, pushing down on my erection through my pants. "I can see that. It certainly is quite hard."</p><p>"Let me give you a better look then," I say with a smirk, and stash all of my clothes into my inventory at the same moment, allowing my erection to suddenly push against her bare thighs below her skirt.</p><p>She gasps in surprise before smiling. "That's a neat trick. What else can you do?"</p><p>"This," I say as I run my hand down her body and store all of her clothes in my inventory as well, leaving us both naked.</p><p>"Very convenient," she says, changing positions so she's straddling me. My erection rises between her legs, resting on her stomach, reaching past her belly button. Her breathing gets heavier as she looks down at it.</p><p>I end the anticipation by putting my hands on her ass and pulling her into me. I feel warm and wet skin glide along the bottom of my shaft as she shivers. Her lips find mine, and her kiss is hungry and desperate. I taste her breath as our lips meet and part, tongues probing but pulling back before committing.</p><p>Her lower body gyrates, encouraged by my grip on her hips, sensually grinding her lower lips on my hard manhood. I feel her warmth and evidence of her arousal run along the length of my shaft and shudder in pleasure. My hands grip her ass tighter as I deepen our kiss. No longer satisfied with the rapid but fleeting contact, I lock her lips with mine and probe my tongue deep into her mouth.</p><p>She moans into my mouth and wraps her arms around my neck, holding the two of us close together. For a few blissful moments, my entire world is reduced to just our kiss, her breasts as they push against my chest, and the feeling of her grinding against me, a wave of pleasure building up slowly inside me.</p><p>I start thrusting my hips upward in time with her, increasing the tempo and pressure of our movements. Our once smooth movements become frantic, as the pleasure for both of us rises and we get close to the edge.</p><p>She cries out, breaking off our kiss, and her nails dig into my back as she clings tight to me, shuddering as an orgasm wracks her body. The pressure I feel reaches a crescendo, and my own climax washes over me. I keep thrusting shakily as my seed shoots upwards between us, mostly landing on the undersides of her boobs and stomach.</p><p>One time only being a warmup for me at this point, I lift her hips up high, line myself up with her wet slit, and then lower her back down. She makes a keening noise in my ear as I lower her onto my slick member until I am fully hilted inside her.</p><p>For a moment we sit there like that. Her chest is heaving, her breath ragged in my ear as she recovers from her orgasm and gets used to the feeling of me filling her. My dick twitches in need inside her, and I reflexively buck my hips, shifting inside of her. She swallows hard in response before she starts to move.</p><p>She lifts her hips a couple inches before bringing them back down. She groans as I plunge back into her, and does it again, faster this time. Then faster, and faster, each time crying out louder and louder. My hands, still on her ass, start guiding her, raising her higher and lowering her faster, even as a thrust up to match her downwards thrust.</p><p>Soon, this devolves into rapid thrusting. A wet slapping noise fills the room accompanied by heavy breathing and Momo's rapid cries of pleasure. Her bouncing breasts fill my view and I catch one with my mouth, latching onto it and flicking the nub of her hardened nipple with my tongue. She cries out louder and pulls my head in closer to her chest.</p><p>She moans loudly as her back arches and jolts run through her body. I increase the tempo of my thrusts, biting lightly on her boob. I slam into her hard and cum again, filling her with my seed. Her moans pitch higher with my last thrust and the feeling of my semen filling her.</p><p>Momo slumps down, chest heaving as she breathes heavily. I remove her tit from my mouth so I can also recover, though I'm not nearly as winded as she is. After a few moments, she notices I haven't softened at all inside her. Her eyes widen.</p><p>"You can keep going?" she asks.</p><p>"Probably a couple more times," I admit. She looks surprised, but also happy, and a little determined.</p><p>She lifts herself upward and off of me, shuddering with every inch pulled out of her. She gasps softly as I finally exit her entirely before getting off the couch and kneeling between my legs. My dick stands upright before her, still just as hard as before and covered in our combined juices.</p><p>Smiling seductively, she traps my shaft between her large boobs and starts slowly sliding them up and down. The lubrication already present seems to be enough and I moan at the sensation of my dick sliding between the soft warmth of her breasts. Her smile widens at my reaction and she starts moving faster.</p><p>The sight alone is one that is enough to heighten my arousal. The way she's smiling at me, maintaining eye contact, as my dick rises out of the space between her breasts that she's holding tightly around me, creating the most comfortable sensation I've ever felt, is all enough to drive me crazy. This only increases when she starts moving further down and begins to kiss the tip of my penis with every thrust.</p><p>Her soft lips on my sensitive lower head causes me to moan again, which encourages her further. She changes her movement to shallow but more rapid thrusts, keeping her lips on my dick as I fuck her breasts. She lowers her mouth a little, taking in the entire head of my penis. I feel her tongue swirl around it teasing me. The entire time, her breasts don't stop moving and she maintains eye contact with me.</p><p>The stimulation, both physical and visual, is too much for me. My hands gently hold her head, my fingers intertwining with her hair, and I pull her down slightly as I thrust up and cum. She's ready for me and I can feel her mouth work as she swallows the large load of semen that pumps out of me, not at all reduced in volume or viscosity despite it being my third time.</p><p>She pulls back a bit, removing my dick from between her pillowy tits, and visibly swallows while maintaining eye contact with me. She opens her mouth and shows me that it's empty. If it weren't for the fact that I was still hard, the expression of triumph on her face would have gotten me immediately erect again, refractory period or no.</p><p>Something must have shown in my expression because she smirks before getting up to sit on the coffee table behind her. She spreads her legs and beckons me with a finger, inviting me in.</p><p>I don't hesitate, and in moments I'm on top of her, lining myself up with her. Her legs wrap around me and pull me towards her. Her breath catches as my length is pushed into her and she moans as I slide deeper. I brace myself with my hands on either side of her head and lean in to kiss her before I start thrusting, pulling myself out a few inches at a time before slamming it back in.</p><p>Each thrust has her gasp into my mouth as we kiss. Her arms wrap around my back and pull me closer to her. I change the angle of my thrusts over time, searching for the spot the got the strongest reaction from her.</p><p>I know I've found it when she clenches up and bites my lip. Her lower body jerks slightly as she orgasms. I give her no break. Instead, I double down and start thrusting faster at that same angle.</p><p>She cries out, her voice jumping in time with my thrusts as I hammer into her. In what feels like both an eternity of build-up and a mere moment of pleasure, my climax washes over me and I thrust deep inside of her one last time, cumming deep inside of her for a second time.</p><p>She gasps and clenches up as I fill her, shaking as pleasure jolts through her and she cums again as I feel her tighten around my shaft as if to prevent me or my seed from escaping her.</p><p>Once again we pause to catch our breath, not saying anything. Until she notices me not softening at all inside of her.</p><p>"Still not enough for you, huh?" she says, sounding out of breath.</p><p>"We can stop there if you want," I start to say, but she cuts me off with a shake of her head.</p><p>"No, I can go one more time. You lay down on the couch, I'll be in control this time."</p><p>I nod and slowly extract myself from her again, relishing the feeling of her tight walls as I slide out of her. I do as she says and stretch out on the couch. She gets up on shaky legs and straddles me. She takes a moment to breathe before slowly lowering herself onto my cock once again, not stopping until I'm fully inside of her. My dick twitches inside of her.</p><p>Instead of lifting herself up to start bouncing on top of me as I expect, she slowly gyrates, moving her hips in a small circle. Her insides clench and move around me as well, providing a strange but potent mix of sensations.</p><p>Our lovemaking earlier had been heated and frantic, but now Momo took things slow and sensual, dragging out the pleasure, slowly building towards orgasm as she tenderly rides me. Her expression is one of lust and love and care and joy, and I lay back and allow myself to enjoy her efforts.</p><p>Minutes of this later, my orgasm arrives, and I twitch as I paint her insides white yet again, filling her up completely. Finally, I feel my shaft start to soften.</p><p>Momo lays down on me, pushing her boobs against my chest and causing my now soft dick to pull out of her. We kiss each other gently, basking in the post-sex glow.</p><p>"I love you," she says.</p><p>"And I love you too," I reply, meaning it this time. We lay like that for a couple minutes, relaxing and kissing. Before long, I feel myself hardening once more. She gasps slightly in surprise as my rising shaft brushes between her legs.</p><p>She looks at me in surprise. "Again? Already?"</p><p>I shrug. "Well with you on top of me like this and kissing me, how could I not be aroused?" I kiss her. "You can ignore it though if you're done for now. I can't promise it'll go away so long as we're laying like this though."</p><p>"Sorry, I don't think I can go for another time just yet," she says apologetically. "Maybe in a bit."</p><p>"It's fine," I say. "I came five times, that's enough to satisfy me. Mentally at least. My body is greedy though."</p><p>She laughs a little, bouncing slightly on top of me. After a moment of silence, she starts speaking. "You know, last night, when I saw how big you are, I was a little worried. I thought there was no way it would fit, and that my first time was going to hurt because of it."</p><p>"But that wasn't the case," I say, remembering how easy it was to sheathe myself in her, and how positively she reacted to it.</p><p>She shakes her head in agreement. "It was quite a surprise. But when I was talking to the girls later that night, Tomoe mentioned that apparently, Devil bodies are more...accommodating when it comes to sex."</p><p>I nod. "Devils have lewd bodies. That makes sense."</p><p>She giggles. "But that's kind of my point. I'm the one with a body made for sex, so why are you outlasting me when you're just a normal human?"</p><p>"Because I eat my veggies?" I joke. Then I shrug. "I don't know. I guess I just have a lot of stamina."</p><p>She hums thoughtfully. "It reminds me of something you said earlier. That you wouldn't take a girl on a date without talking to me first."</p><p>"Under normal circumstances, yeah," I lie. "Polyamory is a thing but it's something that should be discussed and agreed on by everyone involved."</p><p>Momo nods. "Right. Well, remember how I told you Devil's have pretty low numbers right now? And one of their biggest goals is to grow their numbers? Well, one of those ways is harems. One male to wed a large number of females to increase the chances of conception. Devils had harems before then too, but they are far more common now, especially with the Peerage system.</p><p>"So I wanted to say this outright. I'm okay not being the only girl you date. Even before I reincarnated I knew it was likely I would be one of several girls to be with a guy, and I'm okay with that. In fact, it sounds kind of fun, like having sisters almost. Or what I imagine having sisters is like at least."</p><p>"So you want me to date other girls?" I ask, surprised. Aika I understood. But I didn't expect this from Momo. Then again, what she said about Devils was true, and this was a lewder world than canon.</p><p>"'Want' is a bit too strong of a word I think," Momo says thoughtfully. "But I definitely wouldn't mind and think it could potentially be fun. Especially if you're going to have so much energy in bed. I think I might need some help to handle you." She pushes her legs together, squeezing my still erect shaft in her soft thighs to emphasize. I twitch in response, and she giggles.</p><p>"I admit, the idea is appealing," I say slowly as if I'm thinking about it for the first time. "Especially since I'm surrounded by so many cute girls."</p><p>"Oh?" Momo says with a smile. "Like who?"</p><p>"You of course," I start. "But honestly, all of the Devil's at Kuoh are pretty cute in their own way."</p><p>"Even Sona?" Momo asks, curious.</p><p>"Especially Sona," I answer. "She's responsible and intelligent and fun to talk to, and she's so pretty." She isn't exactly a walking sex icon like Rias, but I'm not lying about pretty I think she is. The two of them appeal in different ways.</p><p>If Momo is open to the idea, then now is a good chance to start laying the foundation for things. With that in mind, I continue. "Not just the Devils either. Aika and Atsuko are pretty cute too, and I've been getting pretty close to them. And I think Aika is interested, not just in me but in roping in Atsuko as well."</p><p>"I thought they had caught your eye," Momo says, nodding. "And it's not really surprising that Kiryuu wants to include Hyoudou. She's been really protective of her for a while, and there have been rumors that they were together already. You really think Kiryuu is interested?"</p><p>"Yeah I'm pretty sure," I say. "She asked me about hanging out tomorrow even. So if you're okay with that…" I trail off.</p><p>"It's fine," she reassures me with a smile. "You don't need my permission to see other girls. But if it starts getting serious, I want to know about them."</p><p>"I can do that," I promise.</p><p>"And make sure to make time for me," she says in a smaller voice.</p><p>I hug her closely and kiss her. "Of course," I assure her. "What would be the point of dating multiple girls if I neglected one of them? Especially you? I would never let that happen."</p><p>"Good," she says. I can feel her relax as she believes in my words.</p><p>We both fall silent after that, relaxing in comfort as we cuddle. And before long, we both drift off to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AN: Trying to write Serafall using her cutesy voice was an unexpected challenge, though I'm glad she's finally been introduced.</p><p>Also, I hope you all enjoyed the lewd scene this time. I wanted to do something special. Not only for the girl that Axton's been wooing since the beginning but also to make up for the lackluster one last chapter. Also just to try to improve my own skills. Still, I feel like it ended up a bit too long maybe. Let me know what you guys think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. DxD: Recruitment Week 02</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes</p><p>- I accidentally gave Kiba Affection instead of Reputation in the last chapter. This is because, so far, Kiba is the only guy Axton has earned points with, so my fingers typed Affection without even thinking about it. But the fact that Reputation is used so rarely has motivated me to change things up. Affection is for all individuals now. It won't necessarily mean romantic love, but in most cases, it will. In some cases, it will be more akin to familial affection, or whatever manner fits the character the most. Reputation has been removed entirely, as it doesn't really serve a purpose now.</p><p>- Void Mage skills, and the rogue Shadow Step skill, did not show the correct values due to me forgetting to factor in the [Bishop's Blessing] perk he received for reaching 100 Affection with Momo. They should be 50% more effective with no increase in cost. Considering none of those skills have leveled up yet, I haven't bothered to go back and edit the descriptions, but they're all fixed now.</p><p>- The Heart Crystal items that he has have been renamed to Super Heart Crystals. Smaller, less effective versions have been added to the loot table and made more common, to encourage him to use them more often and not hoarding them.</p><p>- The Loot Table has received a background rework. This doesn't actually change much, but it's now easier for me to add and remove items, and the loot rewards should be a bit more balanced.</p><p>- Void Edge has been rebalanced because it scaled up far too quickly before and at Skill Level 21 allowed him to do 158k damage in a single critical sneak attack, which is a tad much. The new formula is still very strong, but not on that level.</p><p>- Serafall has been buffed to account for her being a higher tier of Devil. In effect, this has doubled her HP/MP/SP but left her stats the same.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>I wake up to a tingling sense of pleasure coming from my crotch. I open my eyes to see Momo on top of me still. We're in the same position as we fell asleep, with me on my back and Momo laying face down on top of me, both of us naked. My morning wood was once again rising high between her legs.</p><p>Momo's eyes are closed and she's biting her lip. I can feel her slowly moving her hips, her legs tight around me and enveloping my shaft in her soft thighs. I can feel the wetness of her arousal as she rubs along me and I can feel my own pre-cum running from my tip and down my length. How long has she been at this? I feel pretty close to my own orgasm, so it's probably been at least a few minutes, if not longer.</p><p>Curious, I check her using [Lewd Scouter].</p><p>
  <strong>Momo Hanakai<br/>Arousal: Very High<br/>Perversion: Moderately High<br/>Affection: 100<br/>Orientation: Straight<br/>Fetishes: Vanilla, Kissing, Creampie</strong>
</p><p>A lot has changed since the last time I checked back at the beginning of our date. She was at low perversion before, but now that we're having sex I guess she's hooked. And creampies definitely weren't on her fetish list before, but I'm not complaining. Creampies are just more satisfying.</p><p>That being said, covering a girl in jizz isn't bad either, and I can feel that moment approaching for me. I suddenly grab her by the hips and start thrusting up between her thighs. I'm going a lot faster than she was, but still not very roughly.</p><p>She opens her eyes in surprise and looks at me, obviously not expecting me to be awake. She stops biting her lip and is soon panting as I thrust up. Within moments I cum, angling myself to spray my load all over her ass and lower back. I keep thrusting as I cum and I'm rewarded by the sharp gasp of air she takes when she tenses, obviously having her own orgasm.</p><p>I'm much more surprised by the sound of another moan coming from a different direction. I turn my head slightly to see Kyu, at her full height, sitting with her legs spread a little ways away, fingers furiously working at her pussy, fully naked. Her back is arched as she climaxes. As I watch she slumps down, finally stopping her fingers, and she lays down to recover, shudders occasionally running through her body. We make eye contact and I notice the absolute lack of shame in her eyes, though there is a hint of hunger there, as if her own actions weren't enough to fully satisfy her.</p><p>I turn my attention back to Momo just in time to see her let out a sigh of contentment and turn her attention to me with a smile on her face.</p><p>"Good morning," she greets me.</p><p>"It certainly is," I reply. "I don't think I've ever enjoyed waking up as much as I did just now."</p><p>She giggles. "I woke up when I felt you pushing against me down there, which felt very nice, and I kept rubbing against it, trying not to wake you up."</p><p>"You did a pretty good job of it, but that amount of pleasure was definitely going to wake me up sooner or later." I kiss her. "Come on, last time I didn't get to shower with you, and I don't want to pass up the chance again."</p><p>Her smile widens in excitement and she gets off of me. My erection brushes against her thighs and crotch several times in the process, teasing me. But we unstack ourselves and walk hand in hand to the bathroom. I look back and see Kyu shrink and follow us.</p><p>Japanese style bathing is something I'm still getting used to, but it's something I'm grateful for now because even my small bathroom has a decent amount of space inside of it. More than enough room for me and Momo to start rinsing each other off and washing the other before getting distracted almost immediately.</p><p>I hold Momo up by her waist as I push her back against the wall and thrust upwards into her. Our mouths are interlocked, tongues probing deep into each other's mouth, and all goals of washing are forgotten as I pound away at her. I hear the small sounds of Kyu fingering herself again behind me.</p><p>When I reach my climax, I push in deep, trying to deposit my seed as deep inside of her as possible. From the strangled moan she makes into my mouth as we kiss, it seems like she appreciates my efforts.</p><p>Neither of us are satisfied with just that though. As I let her down she turns around, puts her hands against the wall, and bends down at the waist, leaving her perfectly round ass protruding out. She looks back at me over her shoulder with a lewd and inviting smile.</p><p>I take a moment to appreciate the view of her long and shapely legs leading to her beautiful buttcheeks that perfectly frame her wet slit, and the sight of her pale and perfectly smooth back as she prepares to take me once more.</p><p>Hornier than ever, I line up and thrust into her in one go. She cries out in pleasure at the sensation, her hands curling up into fists as she steadies herself against the wall. Despite my initial strong thrust, I decide to start out slowly, savoring the experience.</p><p>Once again I hear Kyu moan softly behind me, but this time I look at her. She's laying in her smallest form, just six inches high, on the ground with her legs spread as she watches us. One hand works furiously at her pussy while the other gropes one of her boobs. She smiles as she sees me look at her.</p><p>Getting a crazy idea, I use my head to beckon her over and indicate Momo's back, which is currently pretty flat and moving slightly as I rhythmically thrust into her. Kyu looks confused at first, but realization dawns on her face after a moment, and her expression turns lewd. She pauses her masturbation and flies over.</p><p>She settles in the Momo's lower back, facing me. Once again she spreads her legs and starts masturbating, but this time she makes more of a show of it, a smirk on her face as she watches me watch her get herself off.</p><p>I start increasing my tempo. Momo starts moaning lightly, the noise of it echoing slightly in the shower, unaware of the love fairy getting herself off on her back.</p><p>Kyu increases her pace as I increase mine, growing increasingly flush and her chest heaving as her movements become more frantic.</p><p>Both girls cry out at the same time. I feel Momo clench and shudder around me as she cums, and Kyu, not minding the jostling of Momo's orgasms, arches her back and cries out as well as she climaxes as well.</p><p>My own ejaculation starts inside of Momo just moments later, but I quickly pull out and spray my seed once more onto her back. But this time, I aim for Kyu.</p><p>Kyu is caught off guard as my jizz completely washes over her like a firehose. Almost immediately her small form is completely covered in my seed.</p><p>She looks down at herself. I can't tell what her expression is under all the semen but as she runs her hands down her body she shudders again, stronger.</p><p>Momo recovers from her own orgasm and stands up, forcing me to catch Kyu as she slides off of Momo's back. The diminutive love fairy comes to her senses and flies off to where we left the water on to rinse herself off.</p><p>"I think," Momo starts to say, breathing heavily, "I think that's all I can do this morning." She looks at my still very hard cock. "Yeah, I think I need some help to handle you."</p><p>I laugh and we get back to washing, doing it properly this time. My erection doesn't go down, but I ignore it. Momo tries, but I see her eyeing it every now and then, each time shaking her head a little bit before looking away.</p><p>As Momo and I settle into the bath I look around and notice that Kyu isn't with us anymore. I guess she slipped out at some point. I decide to not worry about it and talk to her later and enjoy the hot water with Momo between my legs, her back against my chest. This also put my erection comfortably between her butt cheeks and up to her lower back. I wrap my arms around her stomach, holding her tight to me.</p><p>"You really are insatiable, aren't you?" She asks with a giggle. "Though I admit, I'm enjoying the benefits of it. I'm just sad I can't keep up with you. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be walking funny all day, which I'm sure the girls will notice."</p><p>"Worried they'll be jealous?" I ask lightheartedly. "After all, I doubt any of them are receiving the same level of satisfaction."</p><p>"Oh I'm sure they will be jealous," Momo says with just a hint of smugness in her tone. "Especially Ruruko, who has a bit of a crush on you."</p><p>"Ruroko is the cute one with the striped socks, right?" I ask.</p><p>Momo nods. "That's her. She's a sweet girl, and she's been more interested in our activities than anyone else."</p><p>"I wouldn't mind getting to know her better," I say. It's criminal how few girls in this universe wear thigh high socks, so getting closer to one of the few that do is very much a priority.</p><p>"I'll talk to her, let her know about our arrangement. I think she's been holding herself back because of me."</p><p>"Let me know how that goes," I say.</p><p>She nods. A moment later she speaks up again. "You said you were going to see Kiryu and Hyoudou later today?"</p><p>"Aika asked about arranging a hangout today, yeah. I didn't give her a definitive answer because of everything going on last night, but things went pretty well so my schedule is open. Unless you want to spend the day as well."</p><p>She shakes her head. "No, I have some things I need to take care of soon, so I can't stick around for too long. You should tell her you are free today."</p><p>"Alright. Then yes, I will be hanging out with them today."</p><p>"Are you planning on having sex with them?" she asks. Her tone isn't accusatory, in fact, it seems genuinely curious.</p><p>"I have no plans whatsoever and will just let whatever happens, happen," I state.</p><p>She giggles. "Why do I feel like that's how you handle most things?"</p><p>"Because you've gotten to know me decently well over the past week?" I reply. This causes her to giggle harder.</p><p>We spend the rest of our bath in silence, just enjoying the hot water.</p><hr/><p>Momo left after we got out of the bath, citing work she had to do for Sona. I gave her back her clothes, she said her goodbyes to Yua, gave me a kiss, and then she was gone.</p><p>The first thing I do is text Aika.</p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>I know it's sorta last minute, but turns out that yes I am free today.</em></p><p><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>It's fine, I imagine you were pretty busy last night. But good, me and Atsuko are free as well.</em></p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>How does movies at my place sound? Everyone bring a movie, I'll provide the snacks, and we can all snuggle up on the couch.</em></p><p><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Perfect. And you can tell us all about your dates.</em></p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>Oh I will, and it's juicy.</em></p><p><span class="u">Aika</span>: <em>Can't wait. 3 sound good?</em></p><p><span class="u">Axton</span>: <em>3 is good. See you then.</em></p><p>Excellent. Date night with two cuties secured. I'll have to go shopping later for stuff. I have some things I want to pick up anyways, so it works out fine. But before I do that, I should talk to Kyu.</p><p>I find her laying on my bed, human-sized, reading a magazine.</p><p>"Looks like you're back to your full height," I comment.</p><p>"Hell yeah I am," she says, looking up. "I'm back to 5'4" of full sexiness." She props herself sideways on an elbow and runs a hand down her body, emphasizing the lines of her fairy outfit. "Like what you see?"</p><p>"Oh for sure," I agree without hesitation. "If it weren't for that quest, I'd take you right now. But then again, seeing your smaller form covered in my jizz was pretty good too."</p><p>She taps her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I've never really been a girl who appreciates getting it in the face, but the mega-bukkake was definitely really fucking hot. All that warm jizz, covering every inch of me." She shudders. "I've lived for over three hundred years but still I'm finding new fetishes. And that's fucking awesome."</p><p>I laugh. "I'm glad you liked it. When you snuck off afterward I thought you were mad."</p><p>"Nah bro, you good," she dismisses. "I just needed to cool down a little, it was getting pretty steamy in there. And I thought I'd give you two love birds a little privacy."</p><p>"Fair enough, though you've never really intruded before," I say.</p><p>Looking at Kyu now, I realize that I've never used [Lewd Scouter] on her. Or [Observe] but honestly I'm more interested in the results of the former. I look at her and use it now.</p><p>
  <strong>Kyu Sugardust<br/>Arousal: Moderate<br/>Perversion: Very High<br/>Affection: 69<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Matchmaking, Voyeurism, ?</strong>
</p><p>I can see her eyes widen as she notices what I notice. I start laughing. "Wait, is your Affection really at 69, or are you fucking with me?"</p><p>"That's actually legit, holy shit," she says, laughing. "Oh, I've got to do something special for that. I wasn't going to use this system, but there's no way I can pass a chance like this up."</p><p>
  <strong>Achievement unlocked!<br/>[Noice!] - Get Kyu Sugardust to exactly 69 Affection<br/>Reward: Lewd Skill Gem</strong>
</p><p>"Lewd Skill Gem? Like a crafting skill but lewd? Oh hell yes."</p><p>"Got it in one, son!" She says. "Yeah I've been dying to start handing these bad boys out because oh man are they a lot of fun, but the stupid game locks them behind you needing a magic class because most of them are magic, and I couldn't override it. But still, bust that thing open, let's pick a bedroom skill."</p><p>I'm almost as eager as she is, so I do as she says and pull it from my inventory, crushing the small pink gem between my fingers.</p><p><strong>Lewd Skill Gem Used!<br/>Pick a Lewd Skill!<br/>[Refraction Reduction]<br/></strong> <strong>[Increase Sensitivity]<br/></strong> <strong>[Touch of Pleasure]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Size]<br/></strong> <strong>[Imbue Stretchiness]<br/></strong> <strong>[Imbue Tightness]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Flavor]<br/></strong> <strong>[Summon Appendages]<br/></strong> <strong>[Summon Toy]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Fertility]<br/></strong> <strong>[X-Ray Vision]<br/></strong> <strong>[Lubricate]<br/></strong> <strong>[Clean]<br/></strong> <strong>[Seal Orgasm]<br/>[Link Sensations]</strong></p><p>"Wow," is all I can say when I see the list.</p><p>"Right?" Kyu says, excited. "Lots of fun things to play with."</p><p>I frown at the list. "I have no idea how I'm going to choose just one of these, there are a lot that I want to get as soon as possible."</p><p>"Don't worry about that. Now that I can, I'm gonna be handing this shit out like it's candy."</p><p>I keep looking at the list. "You know, that Raynare situation did give the [Massage] skill. So [Touch of Pleasure] could really take that to the next level."</p><p>"Oh my god. Yes. Absolutely." She gets up and approaches me. "Look me in the eyes, Axton. You have to get that skill, and you have to use it on me <em>immediately</em>. Think of the free levels you can get Axton. Think of finally getting to touch my beautiful body."</p><p>"Alright alright, I get it," I say, trying to calm her down. "I'm convinced already." I select [Touch of Pleasure] from the list.</p><p>
  <strong>[Touch of Pleasure](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>When active, touching someone's bare skin with your own will feel pleasurable, like you're touching an erogenous zone. Maximum pleasure scales with level. Costs 25MP/s.</strong>
</p><p>Nice, unless that cost went up I won't have to worry about keeping it up, seeing as I regenerated over 130 MP a second.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</strong>
</p><p>"Fuck yes," Kyu says, already stripping and laying facedown on the bed. "Now come over here and work those magic fingers."</p><p>I roll my eyes but follow her to the bed, stashing my shirt in my inventory, though I don't undress more than that. I straddle over her, positioning myself above her legs. As I look down on her, her wings disappear, granting me easy access to her back. My eyes drift down to her butt, which is right in front of my crotch.</p><p>"Nuh-uh," Kyu says. I look up and see her looking at me. "You're not even halfway done with my quest. Look all you want, but you keep those hands on my back buster."</p><p>"You're such a god damn tease," I grumble half-heartedly, but raise my hands in surrender when she narrows her eyes at me. "Back only, no tapping dat ass. Got it."</p><p>I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and realize that I never looked at the skill description for [Massage].</p><p>
  <strong>[Massage](Active) - Level 1(0%)<br/>Relieve muscle tension by applying pressure on someone. Experience can also be quite sensuous.</strong>
</p><p>Okay, so that was pretty straightforward. No cost or anything, I guess it just helps me do it.</p><p>Sure enough, as soon as I start I feel the skill activate and subtly guide my hands. Soon I'm lightly kneading the soft skin of Kyu's back.</p><p>"Hmm. Yeah, it feels pretty good. But not as good as I was hoping." Kyu comments.</p><p>"Well they're still just level 1," I say. I look at the skills. "No wait, they're both level 2 now."</p><p>"Thank god the early levels are so fast. Maybe I'll start feeling it in a few minutes," she says.</p><p>"Well until then, let's chat. We haven't talked much this past week."</p><p>"That's because you've been a busy bee. You're either with a girl or in the dungeon. Don't get it twisted, the hustle is good, but I'm hardly gonna butt in when you're working so hard to get some girls."</p><p>"Well, part of the reason I'm rushing is so I can finish your quest because there's no way I'm waiting longer than I have to to get you into my bed." I look down at where she is, on my bed, naked as I rub her. "To have sex with you. I really wanna have sex with you."</p><p>She chuckles. "Honestly, the feelings mutual. But I'm a fairy of my word, so you gotta wait."</p><p>"Speaking of the quest though, how much of me and Momo's conversations did you catch?" I glance at my skills again. Both skills are now level 11, and [Touch of Pleasure]'s cost hadn't gone up. Kyu's reactions hadn't changed much either, except she seemed more relaxed than before.</p><p>"Not much. I passed out while you two were cuddling after that super hot fuck session. Why?"</p><p>"Momo, totally of her own accord, greenlit me having a harem. I didn't even mention it."</p><p>"Man, at this rate you aren't even going to need those Harem perks from my quest."</p><p>"Nah, I'm just getting lucky. It's a turn-on for Aika, and Momo is a Devil who knew she was gonna be part of a Harem anyways. I'll need something to help with other girls."</p><p>"I'm sure you could pull it off without it." She sighs in contentment. "No yeah, that's starting to feel pretty good. Keep going."</p><p>I look at the skills. Both are at 15 now. I speak up as I go back to work. "Speaking of Aika. She and Atsuko are coming over tonight. We're gonna have a movie night."</p><p>"Ooh, is it finally time to make a move on Atsuko? She's so cute, and the two of you have been riling her up for what feels like ages."</p><p>"Probably. We'll see how it goes. You're really helping me out, I was planning on using [Massage] to help get her to relax, so leveling it up is a huge help."</p><p>"I hope you remember my selfless sacrifice," she jokes, her voice just slightly breathy. "But here, lemme give you some motivation."</p><p>
  <strong>New Quest Added!<br/>From Both Sides<br/>Objective: Successfully seduce Atsuko with Aika's help<br/>Reward: 1 Lewd Skill Gem</strong>
</p><p>"My tiniest quest yet," I remark, noting the singular objective and reward.</p><p>"Meh, it's an easy one, and really just an excuse to give you another sexy skill since this one is already turning out pretty good. You should pick up some oil though, that would make this a lot better."</p><p>"I'll put it on my shopping list," I assure her. Hmm. I wonder if I can make oil with Alchemy? Something to look into.</p><p>"So who else are you getting close to? If you want to complete my quest so bad, surely you have girls in mind."</p><p>"The kendo girls that Aika is hooking me up with, probably make some progress with them once the weekend is over. Ruruko, maybe. Momo said she has a crush on me and is gonna be talking to her. That'll put me at seven, and the eighth will depend. I'm working on pretty much all the Devils, but Asia is due in town soon and she's going to shoot to the top of my priority list. She's adorable, I think you'll like her. But either way, I've got plenty of candidates."</p><p>"Good," she says simply. Her breathing is starting to get a little heavy. "You know, it's not very strong yet, but after this long, it's really starting to be pretty effective. I feel like you've been expertly playing with my boobs this whole time, but it's my entire back."</p><p>I check the skill levels again, and they're at 22. Right around where it starts slowing down. "Let's see how you feel once I hit level 30 with these skills."</p><p>We keep going in silence. At about level 25 she started moaning ever so slightly. At level 28 she is definitely moaning, though it's still soft. At level 29, she buries her face into the bed, trying and failing to hide her flushed face. By the time I hit 30, her muffled moans are audible despite her attempt to hide them.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</strong>
</p><p>I guess she was really enjoying it now, to gain more Affection despite her Affection already being so high. This puts her at over 80 Affection too, which guarantees me the first Bonus reward when I finish her quest.</p><p>"Alright that's enough!" she shouts suddenly. She slithers out from under me and sits up. "Jeez, I thought I was the one teasing you, but now I'm all worked up."</p><p>"That sounds like karma to me," I say as my eyes roam her nude body. I see her naked often enough, but that didn't mean she isn't still very nice to look at.</p><p>She sticks her tongue out at me. "Go do your shopping for today. I need to jill myself off and I want some privacy."</p><p>I decide not to bring up her blatant exhibitionism earlier and just get up. "Sure sure. I'll be back in a couple hours." I switch to my familiar bond. "<em>Yua, wake up. We're going on another walk, I've got to pick up some things and Kyu wants some alone time.</em>"</p><p>I start grabbing my things and a few minutes later Yua bounds into the room and climbs up onto my shoulder. I turn back to Kyu. "Have fun, don't disturb the neighbors."</p><p>"Yuck it up, smart aleck. Just get outta here already," she shoos us off. I laugh but leave out the door, giving her some privacy.</p><p>"Alright, Yua, same as yesterday. We're going to train your [Sneak] skill as we go."</p><p>"<em>Okay, Papa!"</em></p><p>As Yua darts off to hide nearby, I start making a list in my head, before sighing. Too many varied things, I'm gonna have to stop by a lot of places. Thank god for the inventory.</p><hr/><p>With a groan, I lean back from where I was hunched over my coffee table. The past three hours had kept me pretty busy, but it was totally worth it for all the progress I made.</p><p>
  <strong>[Alchemy](Active) - Level 67(17%)<br/>Mix ingredients and mana to create mystical potions and materials. Limited to four ingredients max. Skill can also be used to find out what would be made from held ingredients.</strong>
</p><p>While shopping for a movie and snacks, I also grabbed a ton of other stuff. I had to visit more than a dozen different stores, sometimes even multiple of the same type of store. After all, buying 20 cans of bug spray raises some flags I bet. I had to buy them in different places.</p><p>Though I only found the one sex store, near the love hotels. But all they did was look at me funny when I walked to the register with several giant bottles of lube, multiple containers of male supplements, several boxes of condoms, several bottles of massage oil, and a few sex toys.</p><p>Using the various things I picked up, I was able to get my Alchemy to level 50 by making 70 Moderate Poisons, which updated my skill so I could now make Major Potions. The skill description didn't change beyond that, but when I used the skill to determine what kinds of potions I could make, I'm pretty sure ingredients that didn't work together before started working together.</p><p>I used my new tier of potion-making ability to immediately make 10 Major Poisons before I ran out of bones to use, and I decided to save the rest rather than make Moderate Poisons.</p><p>
  <strong>[Major Poison]<br/>163 damage per second for 60 seconds</strong>
</p><p>Which left me with the ingredients I grabbed at the sex store, which includes the condoms. Using those, I made 64 Major Aphrodisiacs, and 16 Moderate ones, both of which raise the arousal of a target.</p><p>Then I made a few more potions with whatever ingredients I could make work. 7 Major Health Potions that healed 75% of max health, 1 Cure Debilitation Potion that could cure non-magical physical debilitations, and I finally reached the Holy Grail.</p><p>3 Genderbend Potions sat on the table in front of me. Making them had required using the Magic Dye I got as a loot reward, but as soon as I figured out another ingredient to replace that with, I could make these at will.</p><p>I'm not sure who I want to use these on. Most likely, only those willing, or those I can convince, but it's fine. The option is there now, and it expands my harem options by a lot.</p><p>While making potions, I was drinking some too. Specifically, I was drinking poisons to level up my poison resistance skill.</p><p>
  <strong>[Poison Resistance](Passive) - Level 58(9%)<br/>Resist 58% of Poison damage</strong>
</p><p>It took all of my Minor Poisons and most of my Moderate Poisons, but both of those did less damage than my natural health regen, so I could drink them without worry. The Major Poisons I left alone. Mostly because I don't have a lot of them and I need five of them to start priming my Poisonous Sheath with, which is currently sitting in a tub of water resetting itself.</p><p>All in all, it was a productive morning, and the timing is perfect because I hear a knock on my door. I look around quickly, make sure everything is put away. Kyu and Yua are in the kitchen, where they'll be hanging out while Aika and Atsuko are here. Seeing that everything is ready, I go answer the door.</p><p>I open the door to see Atsuko and Aika, each of them holding a bag. Aika is wearing a simple t-shirt with a low neckline and a short skirt with black thigh high socks. Atsuko is wearing super short denim shorts and a spaghetti strap top that leaves just a bit of her belly exposed. I'm surprised and enthused about her outfit. It exposes a lot of skin and looked really good on her. I'm also pretty sure she's not wearing a bra. I notice Atsuko starts fidgeting slightly as my eyes linger on her.</p><p>"Hey guys, you're right on time. Come on in." I welcome them in. They step into the entry and take off their shoes before I lead them into the living room. "I've got snacks and drinks, and a couple movies in case you guys didn't bring any."</p><p>"We both brought a couple as well," Aika says. "We'll have plenty to choose from at least."</p><p>"You two make yourselves comfortable while I grab the stuff," I tell them while I go to the kitchen. In truth, all the snacks are in my inventory, so I make sure they're out of sight before I start pulling them out and dropping them onto the table. It's not much, just some chips, candy, cookies, fried chicken, and some drinks.</p><p>I also pull out the two movies I bought. I was surprised when I found a DVD place and saw they had a decent selection of foreign films that I recognized. It seems like the media here is pretty similar to back home. At least the movies are, I'll have to look into games and anime later.</p><p>I put it all on a tray I found stashed in a cupboard and bring it to the living room. Atsuko and Aika are sitting on the couch. I note that Atsuko is in the middle seat and give Aika a subtle nod of approval, to which she just smirks.</p><p>We gather all of our movies together. Aika brought two romances that looked pretty steamy just from looking at the covers. Atsuko brought an action movie and a comedy. And I brought two English movies, one a romance and the other an action.</p><p>After some debate, we settle on watching my action movie first, followed by one of Aika's romance ones. I pop the first movie into the DVD player and take my place on the couch. I sit a bit closer to Atsuko than strictly necessary, something she notices from the way she tenses slightly. Before she can scooch over, Aika moves closer to her from the other side, leaving her trapped between us.</p><p>As the opening credits to the movie play, Aika speaks up. "So Axton, you gotta let us know. How did your dates go?"</p><p>"Well, the date with Momo with <em>very</em> well," I answer. "We had a lovely time at the aquarium and then had a very nice dinner."</p><p>"And?" Aika prompts. I look over at her. She's grinning knowingly, certain that more happened.</p><p>"And then afterward I invited her here to my place for a bit," I admitted. "She couldn't stay the night, but we had a very nice evening."</p><p>Aika laughs. "Which is just code for 'we had sex', right?"</p><p>"A <em>very</em> nice evening," I repeat with a grin. Aika laughs again and Atsuko's eyes widen before she flushes.</p><p>"So what about that other girl?" Aika asks. "Yuuma or whatever her name was. Did you still do that date?"</p><p>"Yeah, but my heart just wasn't in it," I reply. "We saw a movie together, but the atmosphere was awkward. She seemed to get that I wasn't really interested in her and we called off the rest of the date after the movie."</p><p>"Probably for the best if things went so will with Hanakai. Does she know about your second date yet?"</p><p>"Yeah actually. Afterward, I invited her over here again, and I talked to her about it. She was pretty understanding of it, agreed that I probably made the right call and that she trusted me. And this time she <em>was</em> able to stay the night, so that was nice."</p><p>Aika laughs again. "Wow, two nights in a row. You're like newlyweds." Atsuko is blushing even harder now and looks like she's trying to ignore us by paying attention to the movie, but failing.</p><p>"The second date thing brought up an interesting topic of conversation though," I bring up casually. "After we had talked about it and spent some time together-"</p><p>"Just say you were having sex," Aika says. "You don't have to dance around it."</p><p>"So after we had talked and then had extended and repeated sex," I say, enjoying watching Atsuko blush even harder somehow, "and as we were cuddling afterward, she brought up a pretty interesting topic of conversation. Namely, that she was okay with me dating multiple girls."</p><p>Both Aika and Atsuko look at me in surprise, but the type of surprise on their faces is very different. Aika looks surprised, but like she just found a stash of cash in between the couch cushions. Atsuko's expression is harder to read, but if I had to put it into words, it would be like I had just introduced a concept that she never even considered before, but that didn't make much sense considering we had definitely discussed one guy dating multiple girls before and harems were still very much a thing.</p><p>"Really?" Aika asks. "Totally unprompted?"</p><p>"Well," I say, before pretending to hesitate. "Me outlasting her in bed might have had something to do with it, though from the way she was talking it was probably only why she brought it up then. I do think she is legitimately okay with it, considering how she said she was going to talk to one of her friends who she knows has a crush on me as well."</p><p>"I never would have expected that from Hanakai," Aika says.</p><p>"Momo's got a lot more going on then you would think once you get to know her a bit better. But yeah, it surprised me too. She even went so far as to say that I didn't need to get permission, and just let her know if things get serious so she can meet them and become close to them. I think that's what she wants, she compared it to having sisters."</p><p>"Sisters?" asks Atsuko, speaking up for the first time.</p><p>"Well it's not like it'd just be me dating a bunch of girls," I say. "The girls themselves would also get pretty close to each other. Maybe lovers as well, or maybe just like sisters or very close friends or family. Preferably anyways."</p><p>While Atsuko ponders that, Aika asks another question. "So, anyone you have your eyes on already?"</p><p>I smirk. "Oh, there's a couple girls who I think I have a chance with that I'm pretty interested in." Aika of course knows I'm talking about her and Atsuko, but I suspect saying it outright would be a bit much for Atsuko right now.</p><p>"Ooh, mysterious," Aika comments with a smirk. Before I can respond, there's an explosion on the screen, drawing our attention to the movie we had been ignoring in our discussion.</p><p>After that, we paid attention to the movie, talking only to comment on the movie itself or to ask one of the others to pass snacks. Early on, I put my arm around the back of the couch, right behind Atsuko, though not touching her. She tenses a little at first, but over the course of the movie she relaxes, even leaning in towards me a little, though I'm not sure she realizes she's doing it.</p><p>After the first movie is over, we transition straight into the second movie, one of Aika's romance films. When I sit back on the couch, I sit even closer to Atsuko than I was before, but this time she doesn't tense up, even when I put my arm back behind her. Curious, I use [Lewd Scouter] on her.</p><p>
  <strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>Arousal: Moderate<br/>Perversion: High<br/>Affection: 75<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Boobs, Exhibitionism</strong>
</p><p>Moderate arousal already, huh? I wish I had checked when she arrived to see if she arrived aroused or became aroused while here. But more interesting than that is the change in orientation. She's accepted her Bisexuality since the last time I saw her, apparently. I'm not sure why, but it should make today easier.</p><p>Ten minutes into the film, I once again feel grateful to have Aika as my wing woman. The film is as steamy as the cover made it look. But more than that it features a relationship between three people; two women and a man.</p><p>I decide I've played it slow for long enough and start slowly edging up Atsuko's arousal with [Erotic Pierrot]. Not much, with the movie being just a step away from straying into softcore porn at times, it's really not needed, but just a bit to make her think she's reacting stronger because Aika and I are here as well. Soon enough, she's fidgeting slightly and is slightly flushed.</p><p>About a third of the way through the movie, there's a sensuous scene where they give each other massages. I can only grin at the perfect segue.</p><p>"Fun fact," I say. "I'm actually pretty good at giving massages. My fingers have been described as 'magic' even."</p><p>Aika, spotting the opening, jumps in. "Oh really? That's a pretty confident claim. Care to back that up?"</p><p>"You want a massage?" I ask. "Sure, I'd be happy to give you one. I don't have a proper table but we can do it here on the couch, or on my bed."</p><p>"How bold of you to invite me to your bed so quickly," Aika says in a teasing tone. "But here is fine. No reason to change location."</p><p>I use the remote to pause the movie, happening to stop it on a shot of one of the women's boobs as she rolls over for her own massage. "In that case, strip down as much as you're comfortable and lay down on the couch. I'll be right back with some lotion." The two of them stand up as I head toward the bathroom.</p><p>Once in the bathroom, I remove one of the empty massage oil bottles leftover from my alchemy and two Moderate Aphrodisiacs. I consider using the Major ones, but between it, the situation, and my various skills, it doesn't feel necessary. I empty the two vials into the empty bottle, filling it up about a third of the way.</p><p>I return to the living room to see Aika in just her panties and socks laying down on the couch. Pointedly, she's laying face up, her boobs on full display. Her panties are lacy and sensual, only really covering the important bits. She looks at me with a grin. I spot Atsuko nearby, staring at Aika with a blush and a dumb grin on her face.</p><p>"Not that I don't appreciate the view, because I do, but a back massage does require you to be lying face down," I say.</p><p>"Oh I know," she replies before turning over nonchalantly. She doesn't expand further or give any sort of explanation. Atsuko seems to snap out of her daze when Aika's boobs are mostly hidden away, but she still looks pretty happy.</p><p>I quickly hit Aika with [Lewd Scouter].</p><p>
  <strong>Aika Kiryuu<br/>Arousal: Moderate-Low<br/>Perversion: Very High<br/>Affection: 100<br/>Orientation: Bisexual<br/>Fetishes: Big cocks, Deepthroat, Rough Sex, Group Sex, Harems</strong>
</p><p>Like I did with Kyu this morning, I strip off my shirt and straddle Aika's legs to have a good angle on her back.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>I look over the Atsuko and wink, which only makes her blush harder, but she doesn't look away or gain more Affection. Turning my attention back to Aika, I pour a liberal amount of the aphrodisiac onto her back and into my hands. I'm not completely sure how well a potion will work as a massage oil, but it seemed to be working fine so far, and if any potion could be used like this, it was going to be the aphrodisiac.</p><p>When the oil hits her skin, Aika gasps softly. As I rub it into her skin with [Touch of Pleasure] activated, she outright moans. Atsuko blushes even harder and starts to squirm. I check them both with [Lewd Scouter] again. Aika has jumped up straight to a moderately high arousal, and Atsuko is at the same level.</p><p>I let the [Massage] skill guide my movements, keeping [Touch of Pleasure] active and occasionally using [Erotic Pierrot], and very quickly Aika's arousal became High. At that point, I stopped using [Erotic Pierrot] on her. No need to layer so many sources of arousal increase, not when Aika was already part of my harem.</p><p>Aika continues to moan and groan underneath me as my knuckles press into the supple flesh of her aphrodisiac soaked back. I can't tell if she's incapable of holding back the noises she's making, or if she simply isn't even trying. They increase in volume even as I move on from her back and down to her calves, working upwards towards her thighs.</p><p>Aware of how intently Atsuko is watching the whole thing, I slowly work up Aika's thighs, getting very close but never touching her ass or too far up the space between her legs. Aika squirms beneath me, obviously wanting it, but she doesn't say anything, only continuing to moan as her breathing becomes ragged.</p><p>Finally, when I decide I've pushed Aika to the edge and I don't have anything left to do without it just becoming sexual, I pull back. "Alright, that's it. So how was it?"</p><p>Aika doesn't respond immediately and just lays there breathing heavily. [Lewd Scouter] shows her arousal at Very High, and both [Massage] and [Touch of Pleasure] are level 35 now.</p><p>"Magic fingers may have been an understatement," Aika says after the catches her breath. "You could get rich just giving wealthy women the massages of their life."</p><p>"Who's to say I don't already do that?" I joke as I get off of Aika. "Alright, I know you're probably super relaxed right now, but get up so Atsuko can have a turn." I look at her. "If you want one that is."</p><p>Aika doesn't get up. Instead, she rolls over off of the couch and onto the ground, hitting the ground with a thump. Atsuko and I watch in surprise as the nearly naked Aika gets to her feet and rushes over to the other girl.</p><p>"Atsuko, listen to me, you <em>need</em> to try it," Aika pleads as she grabs her by the shoulders. Atsuko opens her mouth to respond but her eyes are locked onto Aika's chest and I can practically see her struggling to form coherent sentences.</p><p>"Give her a little breathing room Aika," I say.</p><p>Aika of course responds by doing the opposite and moving behind Atsuko, where she slings her arms over the smaller girl's shoulders and putting her lips close to her ear. Aika whispers something in Atsuko's ear that I don't quite catch.</p><p>Whatever it is, it seems to work. Atsuko looks uncertain at first, but as Aika keeps talking, she looks more determined. She looks at me. "Strip down as much as I'm comfortable?"</p><p>I nod. "Yep. Including not at all, though if you keep your shirt on I won't be able to use my oil. And honestly, the more exposed skin, the better it will feel."</p><p>She bites her lip, thinking. Aika says something else, and she nods slowly. Aika removes herself from Atsuko's back and Atsuko reaches down to grab the hem of her top. Slowly, with an obviously forced casualness, she pulls her shirt up and over her head, taking it off entirely.</p><p>She makes no attempt to hide her now bare chest, confirming that she hadn't been wearing a bra, but she looks tense. Clad only in her very short denim shorts, she's looking more naked than Aika, whose legs are covered in socks up to her mid-thigh. Atsuko's looking at me, worry clear on her face.</p><p>I make a show of running my eyes over her body, focusing on her small but perky and cute boobs. It's probably not necessary, but just to be sure I use [Erotice Pierrot] on her as I check her out.</p><p>"Nice," I comment with a lecherous grin. She flushes, but she also relaxes a little. "Go ahead and lie down, and I'll get started on you."</p><p>Atsuko makes her way over to the couch and lays down. Aika shoots me a thumbs up and I once again position myself to give a girl a massage. I pour most of the remaining aphrodisiac onto her back and in my hands. It's not a lot, but it's more than enough for me to rub into her back with [Massage] and [Touch of Pleasure] active.</p><p>Atsuko shudders almost immediately at my touch and a small, muffled noise escapes her lips. I grin and redouble my efforts, adding in [Erotic Pierrot].</p><p>Kyu's back had been lithe and pale and inhumanly smooth. Aika's back was bigger, had a bit more flesh to it, and was soft and supple. But Atsuko's back was nearly as small as Kyu's but was more lean and tanned. She was also definitely tenser, something I spend a lot of time fixing.</p><p>As I work on her back, Atsuko slowly grows more and more relaxed, no longer concerned about her nudity, just enjoying the feeling. She lets out the occasional high pitched moan as I knead the tight spots in her back. Aika watches while sitting on the ground next to the couch, still just as naked as before.</p><p>[Lewd Scouter] shows Atsuko as having Very High arousal by the time I finish her back. Her breathing is pretty ragged by this point. As I move to reposition myself to start on her legs, Aika speaks up.</p><p>"Why don't you take off your shorts?" Aika asks. "If he has more access to your legs it'll feel even better." I choose not to comment on how little of Atsuko's legs are covered by her shorts.</p><p>"Better?" Atsuko asks, almost in a daze. "But I don't wanna be naked."</p><p>"It's fine, you'll still have your panties on," Aika reasons. "We're all friends here, no one will mind. In fact, with how cute you are, I think we'll all enjoy it. And if it makes you more comfortable, I'm sure Axton will take his pants off too. We can all be in our underwear together."</p><p>I raise an eyebrow at Aika but nod when Atsuko looks at me in askance. "Sure, I don't mind stripping down to just my underwear."</p><p>She looks at me as she thinks, her eyes roaming down from my face to my bare chest before settling on my crotch. The massages, the nudity, and the aphrodisiac coating my hands have all definitely aroused me and there's a slight tent in my pants showing that. She swallows before nodding. Without bothering to get up, she lifts her hips off the couch and reaches down to unbutton them. She then pushes them down and gets them to about mid-thigh before she can no longer reach.</p><p>I reach out and grab her shorts and slowly pull them the rest of the way off for her. As they slip past her feet and I set them aside, I turn my attention back to Atsuko and her now exposed rear. Unlike Aika, she's wearing more modest underwear in the form of classic striped blue and white panties.</p><p>"Your turn Axton," Aika says with a grin. Atsuko is also watching me expectantly. With a shrug I unbutton my own pants and allow them to drop, leaving me just in my boxers. Where the denim of my pants did an okay job disguising my erection, the boxers did very little, and the tent they formed was both large and obvious.</p><p>"Is- is that because of me?" Atsuko asks in a quiet voice, her eyes locked on my crotch.</p><p>"Yeah," I answer truthfully. "There's no way I wouldn't end up like this after seeing you strip and then rubbing you all over."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>She shivers and then forces herself to turn away, putting her face into the cushion below her. I exchange looks with Aika who just smiles encouragingly and gives me a thumbs up. I note that she's also having a hard time tearing her eyes away from my crotch.</p><p>I grab the massage oil bottle filled with aphrodisiac. It doesn't have much left, maybe half a vials worth. It should be enough for what I need though. I pour the rest of it onto Atsuko's legs, leaving just a little for my hands, and I rub it in with my skills active.</p><p>I focus on her calves first, and I go slowly, taking my time to slowly massage every inch of her leg. Muffled moans of pleasure come from the direction of Atsuko's head still buried in the couch cushion, and I can feel her twitch and shake below me as waves of pleasure shoot through her.</p><p>Her reactions only get stronger as I work my way up her thighs, switching between the two as I slowly inch my way upwards. She turns her head, breathing too heavily to have her face stuff into the cushion. Her face is flushed and her eyes are closed as her moans become that much more audible. I spot Aika with her hands clamped between her thighs, watching Atsuko's face with an expression of lust, and it's obvious from the way she's squirming that she's trying hard not to masturbate.</p><p>When I move to Atsuko's upper thigh, I notice a clear wet spot forming on her panties. The material clings to her skin because of it, showing me a vague outline of her pussy. She's squirming beneath my grip now, seemingly unable to hold still. Her legs keep flipping between trying to open and trying to close.</p><p>As I'm kneading my fingers into the soft flesh where her leg meets her ass, my fingers merely an inch away from her panties, she tenses up beneath me. Thinking I've pushed too far, I back off, but as shudders run through her and she cries out, I realize with surprise that she just climaxed.</p><p>I pull back a little and exchange looks with Aika, who looks just as surprised as me. We both look back at Atsuko, who is recovering from her orgasm, and seems to be coming out of her daze. None of us speak for a moment as Atsuko catches her breath.</p><p>Finally, she speaks up in a quiet voice. "Could you let me up for a second?"</p><p>I scooch backward off of her legs and she gets up and positions herself so she's sitting upright, her knees drawn in towards her chest. Her expression is impossible to read, but she's roughly in the middle of the couch still, and at this angle, I can still see her boobs, so she's not trying to get away or hide, not completely at least. Which is a good sign, I think.</p><p>Aika moves from the floor and sits next to Atsuko, but Atsuko doesn't pay her any mind. "You know, I've been thinking about it a lot over the last week, and I think I like girls. I mean, duh, I've always liked girls. Girls are so pretty and boobs are so nice. But I didn't think I liked girls more than that.</p><p>"But then you and Aika started talking about dating multiple people, and I haven't been able to get that out of my mind. The thought of dating a boy and a girl, or multiple girls, is one that's filled my fantasies these past few days." She looks at me. "When you said earlier that there were a couple girls you wanted to date in addition to Momo, who did you mean?"</p><p>"I was talking about the two of you," I admit, sensing that was the answer she was hoping for. "The two cute girls I've gotten to know so well."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou</strong>
</p><p>She smiles slightly. "And are there going to be a lot of girls in your harem?"</p><p>I think over the list of girls I want to target. "If I can convince them, then definitely yes. A lot of very cute girls."</p><p>"You said that they wouldn't just be all dating you too, right? That it'd be one big relationship?"</p><p>"The exact dynamics will probably depend on the girls themselves, but yes, it's my hope that you'll all get along and be very close. Emotionally, physically, or both."</p><p>She hesitates before asking her next question. "So if I joined your harem, I could become one of those girls, and be surrounded by pretty girls, and you could make me feel good like you just did?"</p><p>I nod. "I could even make you feel better than that, whenever you want."</p><p>Atsuko takes a deep breath. "Okay. Both of you, close your eyes."</p><p>Smiling, I oblige by closing my eyes and sitting still. I'm tempted to use my new skill, [Void Sense], to see what she's doing, but I decide against it. I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen anyway.</p><p>I feel her shift on the couch, moving towards me. Her warm hands come down and grab me by the shoulders. Then, she pushes herself close to me, pushing her small chest with her hard nipples against me in a very pleasing manner, and I feel her lips on mine.</p><p>Her kiss is hesitant, unsure. I kiss her back as much as I can without moving, inviting her into it, and subtly guiding her. She adjusts quickly, and while no tongue gets involved, soon the kiss is deep and warm.</p><p>I open my eyes to see her smiling at me with an expression of pure joy. She puts a finger to her lips and I nod. She breaks away from me and moves over to Aika. She spends a moment getting distracted by Aika's boobs before shaking her head and getting back on target. She then repeats what she did to me and kisses Aika while clinging close to her, their breasts mashing together.</p><p>Aika seems a little surprised, but quickly reciprocates, and the two girls are passionately kissing in no time. When they do separate, I lean in and complete the triangle by kissing Aika, our kiss just as passionate. When we separate, Atsuko looks even more excited.</p><p>"Come on, let's continue this in the bedroom," I suggest. The two girls nod, and I lead them by the hand to my room.</p><p>Almost as soon as we're in the room we reach for each other, and it devolves into heated groping and kissing. My lips switch between their own and whatever bare flesh is placed before me, placing kisses on necks and collarbones and nipples. At some point a pair of hands pull my underwear off, freeing my dick. A hand, with a familiarity that is cleary Aika, starts stroking it.</p><p>The back of my legs hit the bed and I pull all three of us onto it. I lay on my back and each girl lay half on top of me. Hungry lips and tongues find my own and Aika keeps stroking my erection.</p><p>Eventually, Aika and Atsuko pull back slightly, breathing hard. Aika leans over to Atsuko, talking directly into her ear, though also talking loud enough for me to hear. "Since Axton made you feel so good with that massage, you should return the favor, don't you think?" Atsuko nods. Her hesitation is gone, leaving just her lust and eagerness. "Don't worry, I'll help you."</p><p>Aika slides down my body, with Atsuko following after her, until her head is at my crotch, and my erection stands tall between the two of them. Atsuko's eyes widen as she takes it all in, but Aika doesn't hesitate to start kissing it, starting at the base and working her way up towards the tip. Atsuko, not wanting to be left behind, quickly copies her. The sight of the two of them kissing my cock is heavenly, and I reach down to run my fingers through their hair.</p><p>Aika reaches the tip first, and after positioning herself, starts swallowing my dick. She doesn't go very far down, just a couple inches past the tip, but I groan in pleasure anyways as her warm mouth and tongue encompass me. She moves up and down for a short while, drawing my groans of pleasure from me, before pulling back.</p><p>"Try doing that," she says to Atsuko, how had just been watching. Atsuko nods, a determined look on her face, and attempts to copy Aika. She actually does a fairly good job of it, though she struggles to take even that much of my cock into her mouth. Still, she gets enough in, and her tongue is hard at work. I groan louder, which causes her to redouble her efforts.</p><p>While Atsuko does that, Aika goes back to kissing my shaft closer to the base.</p><p>As the pleasure builds up, my dick starts twitching, and I tense. Aika, having long learned the signs of when I'm about to cum, gently pulls Atsuko off of my dick and they both start kissing the very tip of it, their tongues darting out, sometimes getting distracted in kissing each other. Aika goes back to stroking me, and the stimulation is just enough.</p><p>With an involuntary thrust upwards, I cum. Thick strands of semen shoot out of my dick and splatter onto the face of Atsuko and Aika.</p><p>As my orgasm ends, I spend a moment to watch as the two girls look at each other with cum covered faces before they start licking it off of each other, cleaning the other girl with their tongue. The eroticism of the moment is too much, and before they finish I sit up and reverse our positions, laying both girls down as I look down on them.</p><p>I raise Atsuko's legs up and spread them slightly as I position my shaft between them. Her eyes widen. "Isn't that supposed to go soft after you finish?"</p><p>"I told you earlier, didn't I?" I say as I slowly pull her panties off, exposing her completely. "Part of the reason Momo gave her blessing to this was because I outlasted her in bed." I finish pulling her panties off and use a bit of sleight of hand to make it look like I tucked them away somewhere, but instead place them in my inventory. Her pussy is as drenched as the wetness of her underwear would have you believe, and when I rub my shaft against her waiting entrance, she shivers. "So that means, Atsuko, that we're just getting started."</p><p>With those words, I line myself up and slowly push my way into her. I gasp at how tight she is, and she cries out as I enter her. Aika, switching to a more supporting role, positions herself so she's laying on her side up against Atsuko. She kisses Atsuko softly on her neck and chest as her hand gently massages her lower stomach, right above where my cock is entering her.</p><p>I take it slowly, not wanting to hurt Atsuko, but also because she's so tight I'm nearly forced to take it slow. Atsuko is a little on the shorter side, and I can feel the difference as her insides clamp down on me in a way that I've never felt before.</p><p>I get about halfway in before deciding that it was enough. I pause a moment, giving her time to adjust. Aika takes the opportunity to capture Atsuko's lips and start groping her small tits. My dick twitches as I watch the two girls make out and Atsuko moans into the other girl's mouth.</p><p>A thought occurs to me, and I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and I thrust in just a little deeper. Atsuko's eyes go wide and she breaks off her kiss with Aika as she cries out in pleasure. It's not my hands, but my dick is still touching her, and activating the skill through it and inside of her seems to have some powerful effects.</p><p>No longer able to hold back, I pull back a couple inches before thrusting back into her, just going slightly deeper than I managed before. She cries out again in pleasure. "Axton!"</p><p>I keep up my shallow thrusts, and soon she jerks beneath me as an orgasm washes over her. She moans sweetly as it happens, but I keep thrusting, getting ever so slightly further into her. I spot Aika's free hand, the one not playing with one of Atsuko's nipples, pull her panties down and start masturbating as she stares at the ecstasy clear on Atsuko's face.</p><p>I feel my own orgasm rising, and I remember just in time to pull out, not wanting to impregnate her. My last thrust is between her thighs and once again my jizz shoots out to cover her. I keep thrusting, fucking her thighs as my orgasm finishes. By the end of it her entire front, from her collar bones, down past her breasts, and all the way down to her stomach are all covered in my seed. She looks down in wonder at the sight, running a finger through the mess.</p><p>Before she can do more, I flip her over and put her on her knees. She makes a little noise of surprise, but I cut that off as I thrust back into her. I haven't had enough of her tight pussy yet, and I feel more worked up than ever.</p><p>"Oh god, yes!" Atsuko cries out. I feel her moving her own hips in time with mine, pushing back as I thrust into her. I feel that I'm as deep into her as I can get, about two-thirds of my length disappearing into her with each thrust, so I increase my speed instead.</p><p>Aika, lust overcoming her, gets upright on her knees and wraps her arms around my neck to pull me into a kiss. I keep one hand on Atsuko's hip, but with my other I get a handful of Aika's ass, pulling her closer to me. My fingers are just a couple inches away from her dripping slit, and she moans into my mouth as I grope her.</p><p>She squirms and pushes my hand closer to her pussy, and I get the hint. As I thrust into a moaning Atsuko, I stick two fingers into her. She moans slightly into my mouth and I thrust my fingers and clamps her arms tighter around me.</p><p>The volume and pitch of Atsuko's moans increase and she grips the bedsheets tightly, letting me know her orgasm is coming. In response, I thrust faster and harder, pulling out more before slamming deep into her.</p><p>"More, more, more!" she cries out and I comply, even as my fingers pick up speed inside of Aika and my tongue wrestles with hers. Atsuko's back arches in response and I feel her tighten around me. I keep thrusting as long as I can as I feel my own climax build and pull out at the last possible minute, semen erupting my dick as I groan. With my lips captured by Aika, who refuses to let go and is only holding me tighter as I cum, I can't really aim. But I feel my dick settle in the space between Atsuko's relatively small butt cheeks as I thrust lightly.</p><p>When my orgasm ends, I remove my fingers from Aika and she whines but disengages enough for me to look at my handiwork. Similar to her front, semen covered her entire back and the area where her back met her ass.</p><p>Atsuko slumps down, breathing hard. She turns to see me still hard and gulps. "Uhh, Aika? Tag in."</p><p>"Gladly," she purrs and immediately pushes me down into a sitting position with my legs spread. With her back to me, she quickly lines herself up in my lap and lowers onto me, her arousal easing the way until nearly all of my dick is inside of her.</p><p>Aika lets out a keening noise of satisfaction at the feeling of me inside of her, and Atsuko watches in awe, one of her hands gently touching herself. Once Aika gets settled she starts lifting herself up and bouncing on my dick. I kiss her softly on her neck and back as she moans. My hands reach around and cut her bouncing breasts, running my fingers on the underside of them and tracing the area around her nipples.</p><p>As Aika bounces on my dick, Atsuko starts getting closer, her eyes glued on where we connect. I lose sight of her when she gets too close, but gasp when I feel a tongue run up my length and move on to Aika's flesh. From the hitch in Aika's breath, she enjoyed the feeling as much as I did.</p><p>Atsuko continues to lap at both of us, stimulating us, and it's not long before we both cum. Knowing Aika is on the pill, I don't bother pulling out and instead satisfy my desire by filling her with my cum.</p><p>When I left a still shuddering and moaning Aika off of my dick, which is finally softening, I'm surprised by Atsuko continuing her action, but now focusing entirely on Aika. Aika makes a strangled noise as Atsuko latches on to her pussy and starts digging into her with her tongue, clearly licking up and swallowing my cum.</p><p>Aika pulls Atsuko up and kisses her on the lips, and I see some of my cum pass between their lips. As Aika pushes Atsuko down, pinning the smaller girl under her as they make out, I'm presented by the beautiful sight of their pussies, wet with arousal, stacked on top of each other.</p><p>My dick instantly stiffens again and I don't hesitate to thrust between them, sandwiching my dick between their lower lips. They both gasp in surprise, but it quickly turns to moans as they go back to making out while I pump my hips, grinding both of them.</p><p>It didn't feel as good as putting it inside one of them, but between the visual stimulus of them making out, their fingers intertwined as they hold hands, boobs smashed against each other and moaning into each others mouth as they both rock from my own movements, and the satisfaction of pleasuring both of them simultaneously, it only takes a few minutes for me to cum again, once again covering the girls in my ejaculation.</p><p>The two girls simultaneously push their hips into my dick as I cum and I thrust faster, managing to bring both of them to orgasm before I soften.</p><p>Finally spent, I lean back and sit down, enjoying the sight as they continue to make out and ride out their climax. They finally separate, and I am greeted with the sight of both of their stomachs up to the bottoms of their tits covered in my thick cum.</p><p>Uncaring of their state, both girls shift to lean on me, and the three of us spend a moment just cuddling.</p><p>"I had no idea sex could feel that good," Atsuko says.</p><p>"I'm glad I was able to show you that," I reply with a smile. "And I look forward to showing it to you over and over again."</p><p>"I'm just-," Atsuko starts before cutting off, searching for the words. "I'm just so happy. I feel so light. I love that I can feel so good with my two best friends."</p><p>I kiss her tenderly and then kiss Aika as well. "Me too. I love both of you, and I'm glad you accepted my selfish wish of being one of the girls I date."</p><p>
  <strong>+4 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>Perk rewarded for reaching 100 Affection with Atsuko Hyoudou<br/>[Dragon's Heart] - Doubles stat gains per level</strong>
</p><p>It's a struggle to prevent my shock and excitement from showing on my face. As the main character and wielder of the Boosted Gear, I knew her 100 Affection reward would be good, but holy shit, that was <em>massive</em>. In the long term, this is so much better than a knock off boosted gear or something similar.</p><p>"Love?" Atsuko murmurs, bringing my attention back to the moment. "Is that what this feeling is?"</p><p>"I can't comment on what you're feeling," I answer. "But it does sound like how I feel about the two of you." She looks contemplative. "But there's no rush, take all the time you need to sort out your emotions, and just talk with us when you need to."</p><p>"Okay," she nods.</p><p>After a while longer, Aika speaks up. "I hate to be the one to break this up, but tonight is a school night, and we need to get home soon."</p><p>"Ah dammit," Atsuko complains even as she sits up. "I was just getting comfortable too."</p><p>"Probably a good thing she spoke up then," I point out. "Come one, let's all go shower off. It'll be a tight fit, but I think we can get all three of us in there."</p><p>We actually manage to fit in the shower and get clean without it turning into another round of sex, though there was plenty of groping as we washed each other. Atsuko especially seemed to enjoy 'washing' Aika's boobs, which Aika seemed very into as well.</p><p>But far too quickly we finished up, and with a few more deep kisses, I say my goodbyes to them at my doorstep.</p><p>Though I do decide to secretly follow both girls home to make sure they get there safely. It becomes a bit harder once they split up, but that just provides me a great opportunity to use one of my new Rogue skills, [Shadow Step]. Its range starts out too short for this sort of thing, but it grows quickly at a whopping 75 meters per level.</p><p>After a few levels in that, I'm able to step into a shadow within line of sight of Aika and arrive within line of sight of Atsuko, practically invisible. I'm glad my [Sneak] uses SP, because, with [Chameleon] and [Ghost] active, my SP was actually dropping fairly quickly, hitting zero within two minutes. If [Shadow Step] also used SP instead of MP, my traveling would be much more restricted.</p><p>Not that [Shadow Step] was very expensive, but I did hit the point where my maximum MP was capping how far I could go, not the skill. That value is over 850 meters, so still quite the distance, but it's frustrating to be limited by my MP bar.</p><p>The girls didn't really need to be watched over as they go home, but it's also decent practice using my skills in a way I haven't before, and I'm getting some good skill levels out of it. They both make it home with no issue and I don't see or sense anything out of the ordinary, so I head back home.</p><p>On my way back I acknowledge the quest completed notification for seducing Atsuko and go ahead and use the Lewd Skill Gem to choose my next skill.</p><p><strong>[Increase Sensitivity] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Increase a target's sensitivity to pleasure and pain.</strong></p><p>Once I get this skill trained up a little, I'll have so many ways to stack pleasure and arousal I should be able to turn any girl into a quivering pile of ecstasy.</p><p>When I get back I find Yua napping and Kyu watching TV. I take Atusko's panties out of my inventory and dangle them in front of her from behind.</p><p>"Got another gift for you," I say.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</strong>
</p><p>"Ooh, these are really ripe," she says while snatching them. "Fuck yeah. Keep this up and you'll get those Bonus Objectives no problemo."</p><p>"That's the plan," I say. "I'm going to head into the Dungeon tonight, anything I should know ahead of time about the Hard Mode dungeons I unlocked?"</p><p>"Nah, they're pretty much what they say. They're just harder versions of dungeons you've already cleared. They give some pretty sweet loot though."</p><p>"In that case, don't wait up for me, I'll be back in the morning."</p><p>"Sure sure. Have fun, don't die, all that jazz."</p><p>With her dismissal, I use [Dungeon Traversal]. The list of Dungeons looks a little different now.</p><p>
  <strong>Please select a dungeon</strong>
</p><p><strong>0: Zombie Dungeon<br/>0+: Zombie Dungeon(Hard mode)<br/></strong> <strong>1: Mystical Forest<br/>1+: Mystical Forest(Hard mode)<br/></strong> <strong>1: Pharaoh's Tomb<br/></strong> <strong>1: Vampire Mansion<br/></strong> <strong>2: Water Temple<br/>2: Colosseum</strong></p><p>I guess clearing one of the tier 1 dungeons was enough to unlock the next tier. Or at least some of it. But I also now have hard mode versions of the two dungeons I've cleared. So while I could go check out one of the other tier 1 dungeons, I think instead I'll spend tonight exploring the Zombie hard mode one.</p><p>It can't be that hard, right?</p><hr/><p>As I dodge the claws of a screaming Witch I curse the stupidity of my past self. I shove my knife, it's edge coated in inky darkness, into the screaming undead's eye and sigh in relief, thankful that she had a critical hit spot</p><p>My relief is shortlived as I'm forced to jump upwards as a sense of doom goes down my back. I leap to the ceiling and cling to it with [Spider Climb]. Below me, a banshee lets loose a massive wave of sonic energy, obliterating the spot where I was just standing.</p><p>Already there are two skeletons, one holding a staff and the other a bow, drawing their sights on me. I blast the banshee with a [Void Beam] even as I drop from the ceiling to dodge the incoming spell and arrow. The beam of reality tearing energy melts the banshee in just a couple of seconds, but it takes half of my MP bar with it. I'm not worried though, because the [Void Edge] on my knife still has a couple minutes left and that should be more than enough to finish clearing the room.</p><p>As I land and the banshee dissolves into wisps of nothing, I briefly use [Void Sense] to get an image of the room without having to look around. In the room are the two skeletons who fired on me at the ceiling, two more skeletons with swords drawn and shields raised, approaching me from opposite directions, and in the corner of the room was a ghoul, waiting to pounce on me.</p><p>The ghoul I wasn't worried about since it could also be dealt with by a critical hit, unlike the skeletons and banshees, who lacked the critical weak spots. I turn off [Void Sense], my MP getting uncomfortably low at around the 1/3 mark.</p><p>Deciding on my plan of action, I draw another blade, my bone dagger I picked up in the normal version of this dungeon, and use [Void Edge] on it as well. I rush one of the skeleton warriors, putting the other one between me and the skeleton mage, and putting me closer to the ghoul. My knives, their edges harnessing the power of the Void itself, shear through its raised shield with little effort, and in a flurry of cuts the skeleton warrior is left in pieces, no longer animated.</p><p>I turn my back to where the ghoul is, using [Detect] to watch for its pounce. Unfortunately, it doesn't take the bait so easily, but I didn't expect it too. They had stopped being so easy to bait half a dozen rooms ago.</p><p>I rush at the other skeleton warrior, dodging an arrow from the skeleton archer, and give it the same treatment. As the warrior dies, not even attempting to fight back, the skeleton mage shoots a beam of sickly green energy towards me, and [Detect] warns me of the ghoul choosing that moment to rush me.</p><p>I smirk at the perfect opportunity to try out my new skill. Activating [Void Sense] to give me the precision I'll need, I store the bone dagger and activate my new skill, [Void Drain], coating my now empty left hand in unfathomable darkness. I hold that hand in the path of the ray of necrotic energy, even as my right hand intercepts the leaping ghoul with a knife in its eye.</p><p>The ghoul thrashes a bit as it dies, but my attention is more on the skeleton mages attack. I drop [Void Sense] and look at my stats. I'm taking damage as the beam hits my hand, but it's not as much as I should be. And more than that, my MP is actually going up.</p><p><strong>[Void Drain] - Level 15(53%)<br/></strong> <strong>Tap into the all-consuming properties of the Void. Coat one or both hands in the hungry Void. Currently can drain: Magic, Stamina</strong></p><p>I grin. I've found my new favorite skill. As the ray stops and the skeleton mage takes a step back in shock, I use that new MP to blast the archer lining up a shot on me with a [Void Beam], reducing it to a heap of bones as I approach the mage. It tries to run away but I grab it with my void covered hand and watch as I drain the MP out of it.</p><p>"That's right you son of a bitch," I say to it. "I've got a new trick, and I'm coming for you."</p><p>The skeleton doesn't have an expression I can read, but as its movements become more frantic, I can tell that the necromancer controlling it is spooked.</p><p>I pretty quickly realized that the undead in this dungeon weren't like the mindless animated corpses in the normal dungeon. They were far too coordinated. After clearing the first room relatively easily, I noticed that the undead in the next room were actually on guard. And as I progressed, they seemed to learn, not falling for the same tricks as the ones in the previous room did. Combined with their flawless coordination that adapted far too quickly for them to be communicating with another, I realized that really could only mean one thing. They were being controlled directly by a necromancer.</p><p>As I devour the last of the mana in the skeleton mage, turning it from an animated undead to a pile of bones, I relax. My MP was at about two thirds now and filling quickly as my natural MP regen worked away.</p><p>I'm very happy I didn't do this dungeon with just my Rogue class, it would have been a nightmare. Between their increased coordination and lack of critical hit spots, taking them out one by one with critical sneak attacks wasn't viable. I could maybe get one like that, taking out the more dangerous enemies before things devolved into a fight, but even that wasn't guaranteed. Witches just straight up couldn't be snuck up on, at least not by me. They were the kind from Left 4 Dead, which meant they just sat still, weeping, until they are aggroed. But apparently, their aggro isn't them noticing you, because according to my lack of sneak attacks against them, they always notice you, even when I tried attacking from a range. They have crazy good senses I guess. Or maybe they just always expect to get attacked? I'm not sure what the exact requirements are for a sneak attack.</p><p>Either way, without the added damage to my attacks from [Void Edge] and the very powerful but very expensive ranged attack of [Void Beam], this dungeon would have turned into a dangerous slog. As it is, it's still somewhat dangerous, and my progress is slow, but it's not too bad. Thankfully, unless there's another floor, it seems that the dungeon is fairly small from what I've mapped so far. It seems to have gone for quality over quantity, a rare decision when it comes to undead armies.</p><p>Something that made my Void Mage class abilities sweeter was the new aspect of my [Void Touched] perk that I discovered.</p><p><strong>Trait updated!<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Touched]<br/></strong> <strong>Your soul has been marked by the time spent between worlds<br/></strong> <strong>Masks mana and the usage of magic. Increases the effects of Void magic by 100%.</strong></p><p>Which put all my void skills at a pretty good level of strength.</p><p><strong>[Void Beam] - Level 26(91%)<br/></strong> <strong>Fire a continuous beam of Void dealing 3055 damage a second. Costs 1000 MP/s</strong></p><p><strong>[Void Sense] - Level 18(66%)<br/></strong> <strong>The Void is the opposite of everything. Feel the void around you, and feel where it is absent. Grants a complete awareness of your surroundings in a radius of 22.5 meters. Costs 180 MP/s</strong></p><p><strong>[Void Edge] - Level 35(70%)<br/></strong> <strong>Coat the edge of a weapon or projectile in Void energy. Adds 1586 damage to the weapon. Costs 1000 MP to apply, and lasts for 356 seconds or until sheathed.</strong></p><p>I unlocked another Void Mage skill before [Void Drain], but I hadn't tried it yet. It was something I'd rather practice in a much safer environment, and preferably with someone I trust watching over me.</p><p><strong>[Void Blood] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Allow Void to run through your veins, sacrificing health for an increase in performance. Costs 1000HP/s, increases all Stats by 12. Maximum HP/MP/SP are unaffected.</strong></p><p>A skill that could kill me in just four seconds for such a measly increase in power was not something I was keen to try. But I suspect that the health cost will decrease pretty quickly as it levels up, and the stat gain will increase just as fast. But those first few levels of leveling are bound to be risky.</p><p>I also got two more milestone stat perks.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 250 WIS<br/>[Danger Sense] - You get a bad feeling whenever something bad is about to happen</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 250 LUK<br/>[Ticket Scratcher] - Once a week, a random extremely lucky event will occur for you.</strong>
</p><p>The Danger Sense was nice, but so far hadn't been very useful since this entire dungeon was a danger zone. But it would provide just a bit of assistance in surprise attacks or other moments when my guard is let down. As for the LUK perk, I was just excited to see what would happen.</p><p>I pull out my HuniePhone and look at the time. Five in the morning, just a couple hours before I have to start getting ready for school.</p><p>Yeah, I think that's enough for today. I need to go over my loot and honestly taking a bath and just relaxing for a bit and washing the smell of this dungeon off of my sounds good. I make my way back to the safe room, which is just a couple rooms back, and use [Dungeon Traversal] to arrive back home.</p><p>As I strip out of my combat gear and head towards the bathroom, I take stock of the loot I got. Discounting the crafting materials, as interesting as some of them were, like the actual nirnroot, I was left with a decent little pile of goodies.</p><p>
  <strong>Treasure Map<br/>A map depicting a location in an unlocked world, complete with an X and a riddle about the location of and how to access a hidden stash of loot.</strong>
</p><p>This one I'm very interested in as a stash of loot on this world is bound to be good. But then again, it could piss off someone very strong when they discover their missing stuff. I'll look closer at it later.</p><p>
  <strong>Rock of Returning<br/>No matter how hard you try to get rid of it, this rock will always end up back in your possession.</strong>
</p><p>...is that it? Just a rock I can't get rid of? I pull it out. It's just a normal rock, not even shaped in a particularly interesting way and it's barely larger than a marble. I shrug and stash it in my inventory, putting it out of my mind.</p><p>
  <strong>Wizards Chess Set<br/>Animated chess set with destructible pieces. Responds to verbal commands and self-repairs at the end of the game.</strong>
</p><p>Ooh, that could be fun. I should use it for the next time I play chess against Sona. Or maybe just give it to her as a gift?</p><p>
  <strong>Bloodhound Ring<br/>When worn, increases your sense of smell to that of a bloodhound</strong>
</p><p>Simple and situationally useful. I'll take it, though I probably won't wear it most of the time. There are just too many things that smell bad.</p><p>
  <strong>Scroll of Private Sanctum<br/>When used, creates a 50-meter radius area of privacy. The boundary of that area is marked by a wall of magical fog that prevents all forms of mundane or magical senses from seeing into the area and prevents any sort of teleportation magic into or out of the wall. Lasts for one hour.</strong>
</p><p>Huh. Could be useful for setting up an ambush or something. Again, situationally useful.</p><p>
  <strong>Wand of Searing Light<br/>A wand that shoots a ray of concentrated sunlight. Ray does WIS light damage and costs 300MP per shot.</strong>
</p><p>Another wand for Yua to use. And this one will be useful against undead and vampires especially.</p><p>
  <strong>Sturdy Crowbar<br/>An iconic and solid crowbar, useful in a myriad of situations.</strong>
</p><p>Iconic huh? I pull it from my inventory, and sure enough, I recognize it immediately as the one wielded by Gordan Freeman, or of the same kind at least. It looks too clean and fresh to be the same exact one.</p><p>
  <strong>(3) Heart Crystal<br/>Increases the Affection of a target under 50 Affection by 10.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Large Heart Crystal<br/>Increases the Affection of a target under 50 Affection by 15.</strong>
</p><p>Individually, they weren't as good as the Super Heart Crystals I've already found, but I got several of them and combined they're more useful. I immediately use them, not seeing a point in holding on to them.</p><p>The large one goes to Serafall, bringing her up to 29 Affection, confirming that my bonuses don't apply when it comes to the heart crystals. I attempt to use two of the normal heart crystals on her as well, but I get a message saying I can only use one heart crystal on a target per day.</p><p>I could save the normal ones for the next day, but I could also just spend my nights grinding for more, and I probably will do that, so I might as well use them. Scrolling through my relationships list, I select Akeno, Tsubaki, and Ms. Nakano. Akeno because she is still at 8 and I don't like her having just a single digit. Tsubaki is also at a relatively low 10, and while I'm at 60 with Sona, I want to be on good terms with her Queen. Half of Sona's peerage is also at 10, but Tsubaki is more important since she has influence over the rest. And Ms. Nakano because it's been frustrating seeing that value not go up and I want to see if bumping her up to 30 changes anything.</p><p>I keep my Super Heart Crystals though. Twenty free affection could help a lot with first impressions and could get me out of some dicey situations.</p><p>As I slip into the bath, relaxing in the hot waters, I look at the last items I found in locked and trapped, chests. Six whole Gacha tokens. Without any hesitation, I use them.</p><p>
  <strong>[Doppelganger] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Create a simulacrum of yourself. It is extremely fragile and weak but capable of acting just like you and following simple orders. Lasts for WIS seconds. The strength of the Doppelganger increases with skill level.</strong>
</p><p>That will be very useful. Even if it can't really do damage, it could set up the perfect sneak attack opportunity. And depending on how much stronger it gets when I level the skill, it might even be combat worthy.</p><p>
  <strong>Stardrop<br/>A mysterious fruit shaped like a star that empowers those who eat it. Permanently increases HP, MP, or SP.</strong>
</p><p>Another one of these, huh? I used the last one on Yua, and it was tempting to use this one on her too. But honestly, I was getting to the point where an increase in HP, MP, or SP could be very helpful. So I take it out and eat it.</p><p>
  <strong>MP increased!</strong>
</p><p>It tastes like sex. Not like sexual bodily fluids, just actual sex. Somehow. It was extremely good, but it was also really fucking with my senses so I swallow it down and move on. I open up my stats to see the results and let out a low whistle. Over 14k MP, with a regen of 282 a second. That should be very helpful with my new, very expensive Void Mage skills. I could now do 42k damage with [Void Beam] by emptying out my MP bar, and I could keep [Void Sense] up indefinitely.</p><p>I spin the Gacha again, hoping for something just as good.</p><p>
  <strong>Don't Touch Me<br/>A pair of gauntlets made from the remnants of a part of the Vex. Offers significant protection against physical and energy-based attacks. Turns the wearer invisible for a moment when they take damage.</strong>
</p><p>Uncaring that I'm currently in the bath, I put them on immediately. Blue leather runs up my arms, and at the top of my shoulders are small triangular plates of metal, while more segmented metal covers my hands. They were comfortable and a couple small slaps against my arms showed they definitely absorbed a lot of force. They were slim enough that I could probably fit my wrist blade over it as well.</p><p>I stash it away, content that my combat outfit has received a very nice upgrade.</p><p>
  <strong>Anti-Gravity Sphere<br/>Glass ball filled with smoke. When broken, those who are touched by the smoke become weightless for one minute</strong>
</p><p>That...might be useful? Could be funny to see a large enemy incapable of flight flail about for a minute.</p><p>
  <strong>Toolbox of Requirement<br/>A standard sized toolbox that contains mundane tools for whatever task you have in mind when you open it.</strong>
</p><p>Well, at least I won't ever be caught without the right tool for the job. Not that I ran into that sort of situation very often.</p><p>
  <strong>Right to Challenge(Ender Dragon)<br/>When used, teleports you to a Boss Arena with just you and the named boss. Can only be exited when the boss is defeated. Bosses grant special loot.</strong>
</p><p>That is very interesting. So essentially I can do the Ender Dragon boss fight? Hmm. I wonder how powerful the Ender Dragon is. Some guy with enchanted diamond armor, enchanted swords and bows, and plenty of building material can beat him, right? He can't be that tough. Still, I'll hold on to this for now. Maybe wait until I max out Void Mage, or get close to it.</p><p>Out of Gacha tokens to spin, and loot to peruse, I just lean back and enjoy the bath. I wonder what school is going to be like now that the devils know about me, or as much as I've let them know. I guess I'll find out at lunch today.</p><hr/><p>A couple hours later and I'm walking to school. Yua is with me again, sneaking nearby. I made her promise to not immediately forget about being sneaky again, though I did tell her that she could hang out with Koneko if she wanted to.</p><p>On the way to school, I decide to train one of the skills that I got in the dungeon last night, as a drop from a Banshee.</p><p><strong>[Audiokinesis] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Control sound in an area around you, increasing it, decreasing it, or redirecting it. Cannot be used to make new sounds. MP costs vary based on action.</strong></p><p>Mostly I just use it to dampen the noise I make. [Sneak] does that already, but I'm just trying to level it up some, and quieting more than just me would draw attention. I can't lower it much right now it seems, and the leveling is slow, but it's something. I try amplifying my footsteps as well, and that works a bit better than dampening them, but I stop quickly as it makes it sound like I'm stomping.</p><p>Much more useful than the [Bone Manipulation] skill I also picked up, which just let me change the shape of dead bone, though I hadn't really experimented with that one yet.</p><p>I also keep up [Void Sense] now that my MP is high enough to more than sustain it, though the cost for it increases as the level does. Honestly, it probably won't be a spell I keep up constantly. Sensing every inch of everything within my range is a hell of a lot of information to process all at once.</p><p>By the time I get to school I've gotten [Audiokinesis] up to level 18, and my footsteps are practically silent now, even when I stomp. Honestly, in terms of just noise reduction, it's far more effective than [Sneak] was at that level, and a lot cheaper too. I couldn't gauge how much MP it used because whatever it was was less than my regen rate, which really just meant it was cheap, and that was fine by me.</p><p>[Void Sense] is at level 22, but I shut it off once I get on school grounds. Its range is 27.5 meters now, and that distance included far too many guys for my liking now for me to be able to sense the outline of their junk. I can forcibly shrink down the range of the skill, but it levels up far slower like that.</p><p>Although slow is better than none, and I don't mind sensing the intimate details of the nearby girls, so I turn it back on, along with [Eavesdrop] and [Detect]. All three are skills that have no sign of use and are pretty useful, even if all the information it's giving me is a lot to process. But once classes start, I can focus just on those.</p><p>I arrive in the classroom to see Aika and Atsuko already there, talking to each other. "Hey girls," I greet them as I sit down. Aika flashes a smile at me and Atsuko blushes a little but also looks happy to see me.</p><p>We chat a bit before class starts, conspicuously not talking about anything related to last night. I suspect that Atsuko is avoiding it because of all the people around and Aika understands that.</p><p>The morning classes are fairly boring. I barely pay attention and instead focus on the skills I'm keeping active, and occasionally checking up on Yua. The skills are slow to level up, but by the time lunch comes around, I've made decent progress.</p><p>Aika shoots me a smirk as the students around us get ready for lunch. "So Axton, you want to come with us and find a quiet spot to eat lunch in?"</p><p>I sigh. "I really wish I could, but Sona asked me to come to the Student Council room today."</p><p>Aika looks surprised, and Atsuko looks clearly disappointed. "Oh? What about?"</p><p>"About Momo I'm pretty sure," I answer. "Sona is very protective of her student council." Understanding appears on the faces of the two girls. "I'll see you guys at the end of lunch," I say goodbye as I get up and exit the classroom.</p><p>A short walk and a flight of stairs bring me to the Student Council room where I knock on the door. I hear Sona call me in, so I enter.</p><p>Once again I'm greeted to the sight of Sona sitting on a couch in front of a chess set on a coffee table while the rest of the student council sit at desks around the edges of the room. Except this time, Momo is sitting on the couch opposite Sona, though a little to the side. She smiles when she sees me.</p><p>"Axton," Sona greets me. "Thank you for coming. Please, take a seat. I have something I want to discuss with you and thought we could play another game of chess while we talk."</p><p>"Sure, sounds good," I say. I sit down next to Momo and lean over and give her a quick kiss. Sona cocks an eyebrow at the PDA, but the joy on Momo's face made it worth it.</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Tsubaki Shinra<br/>+6 Affection with Reya Kusaka<br/>+7 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/>+6 Affection with Tsubasa Yura<br/>+7 Affection with Genshirou Sachi<br/>+7 Affection with Ruruko Nimura</strong>
</p><p>That also made it worth it. I guess the people trying to pretend like they aren't watching us all saw her expression of joy as well. Was Sona's gain canceled out by rule-breaking, or was she just already too high for something like this to increase it?</p><p>I turn back to Sona and the chessboard in between us. "You know, I actually picked up a special chess board yesterday, we could use that instead if you want."</p><p>"I have no problem with that, this is simply the chess set I keep here in the Student Council room. I don't mind using another." She picks up the board, pieces remaining still on top of it, and moves it to the side. I pull the Wizards Chess Set out of my storage. The pieces are more ornate and are styled after actual soldiers rather than symbols.</p><p>"Pawn to E4," I say out loud. Sona's eyes widen slightly as the appropriate pawn moves forward two spaces. "Reset," I command, and the piece steps back into line with the rest. I look at Sona. "They actually take out other pieces too, but it's all repaired at the end of the game. Neat, huh?"</p><p>"I've never seen a board like it," Sona agrees.</p><p>We start playing, our moves much slower than the last time we played. My INT was now a lot bigger than hers, but I wasn't any more familiar with chess than I was during that game. Still, the mental boost was enough that I got the feeling I was actually giving her a challenge. I use [Erotic Pierrot] to subtly increase her arousal as the game goes on.</p><p>A few moves into the game, Ruruko walks over and sets a tray of sandwiches down before sitting down right next to me, on the other side of Momo. I look at her in askance, an eyebrow raised.</p><p>"Since the President asked you to come over during lunch, I thought it was only fair that we provide some actual food," she explains with a smile, not at all explaining why she sat down next to me. From the slightly confused look Sona is shooting her, she has no idea either.</p><p>"Thanks," I say, picking up one of the offered sandwiches. "I really appreciate it." I take a bite. "That's pretty good actually," I comment after I swallow. It's a simple sandwich, just turkey, cheese, and mayo, but the ingredients are fairly high quality and they come together to make a pretty good sandwich.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Ruruko Nimura</strong>
</p><p>Huh, guess she made them herself. She certainly looks like I just complimented her. I look over at Momo, the question clear on my face, and she smiles and nods. It seems like Momo already talked to her and gave Ruruko the go-ahead for getting closer to me.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/>[Thigh High Guy] - Increases Affection gain with girls who wear thigh high socks by 20%</strong>
</p><p>That's a pretty specific perk. But it is also a very appreciated perk. The 50 Affection perks were really starting to add up.</p><p>I smile and Ruruko before turning my attention back to the chess game.</p><p>"So, Momo tells me she explained everything about Devils to you," Sona says a couple moments later as I contemplate my next move.</p><p>"Yep, she gave me the full crash course," I confirm. "It was a lot to take in, but Momo is pretty good at explaining things."</p><p>"So you know what a Peerage is, right?"</p><p>"Yep. Reincarnated Devils that have been turned from another race, usually human, and serve the Devil that reincarnated them. Benefits include becoming a long-lived race, magic, and the potential to rise up and form your own peerage. It's also chess-themed, for some reason."</p><p>"Ajuka Beelzebub, the Satan that created the Evil Piece system, is very fond of chess, and through his influence that has spread to a lot of aspects of Devil culture," Sona answers. "But yes, that is correct. And Momo mentioned that the Student Council is my peerage, correct?"</p><p>"Yeah. She said it was how you found talented individuals and helped improve them. I also remember you extending an invitation to me to join last Saturday."</p><p>"I did. While some members of my peerage reincarnated as Devils before they joined the Student Council, the others I all invited to join to see how they worked with the group as a whole before extending the invitation to my peerage. My invitation then was exactly that. However, that was before I knew the full extent of your abilities and knowledge.</p><p>"As things stand now, I do not feel like a trial period is necessary. You handled the situation with the Fallen well, and while you might be a little rough around the edges, you show real talent and ability. And I have no doubts you can work together well with the rest of my peerage. So I, Sona Sitri, Heiress to the Sitri Clan, would like to formally invite you to join my Peerage."</p><p>Her declaration leaves tension in the air and I can feel everyone's attention on me. I sit up straighter and look up from the chess game, giving her my full attention as I think about how to respond.</p><p>When I first arrived in this world, I would have gladly accepted her proposal. A free Devil race change and I get to spend all of my time with Sona and the other beautiful girls of her Peerage? Sign me up.</p><p>But things have changed since then. Already I'm stronger than Sona, with my recent level-ups and the Stardrop this morning making all my stats, HP, MP, and SP all higher than hers. Honestly, I doubt she'd be able to resurrect me with an Evil Piece.</p><p>But more than that, the idea of being tied down like that irked me in a way it wouldn't have in my past life. I had gotten a taste of power and total freedom and found it to my liking. Even if seduce the whole peerage to the point where I am the de facto leader, Sona's position alone would act as a chain as much as it would a boon.</p><p>I turn my attention back to the board. There was a knight piece just one move away from putting me in to check, but also perfectly positioned to be taken out by my queen. But I had already realized it was a bait, and instead, I called out a move that would put one of my bishops in a position to take out the knight if it approached my king.</p><p>I look back at Sona. "While I certainly appreciate the invitation, understanding fully what it means, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I have no interest in becoming a Devil."</p><p>Sona frowns slightly. "Can I ask you to expand on why? You yourself listed the benefits, and I feel you would fit well into Devil society. If there are any concerns you have, please allow me to address them."</p><p>I sigh. "Well, it's not concerns so much as I just don't think I could benefit from it very much. Sure, flight and Devil magic sound nice, but they're not worth the weakness to Light that comes along with it. At least not for me. I'm sure I'll figure out flight sooner or later, and I'm rather fond of my own magic and what it can do. My skill set is fairly broad already, and I learn more every day.</p><p>But mostly, it's that being permanently subordinate to someone doesn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen from you, you're an intelligent, level headed, beautiful, and caring leader. If I had to choose someone to serve for life, you'd be at the top of my list. But I don't have to choose that, and it doesn't matter how well you would treat me, I'm not comfortable committing to that."</p><p>"To address your points in order," Sona starts, a determined look on her face, "I believe you are underestimating both how much stronger a Devil is than a human and how it would be a multiplier to your current abilities, and also Devil magic as a whole, which is theoretically limitless in its potential. Furthermore, while it's true that I would initially hold a lot of power over you, and that I'll always be your King, the reality is a little different. Once you ascend to High Tier status and receive your own Evil Pieces, I would hold very little true power over you. You could disobey me all you want and there would be practically nothing I could do about it directly, except leverage my own political influence against you, the same as any other Devil could."</p><p>I didn't actually know that was the case. Instead of a shackle that I could grow to ignore over time, it was more of a shackle that withered away as I grew stronger. Still, it wasn't enough.</p><p>"While that does sound much better, I'm afraid it's not really enough. And I'm not sure becoming a Devil would be as much of a multiplier as you think it would be."</p><p>"Still, even if it's only a small gain in strength, wouldn't it be worth a relatively short term investment? The extended life span alone should make it worth it."</p><p>"I've actually been looking to options about that using my own abilities," I counter. "I'm not worried about my lifespan, I'll have it figured out long before then. Within a few months with any luck." I had a few plans in mind, and I knew the Game could give me hundreds of ways to increase my lifespan, through Gacha or through magic. Assuming the Game didn't just make me unaging anyways, which it probably did.</p><p>The hesitation on Sona's face makes it clear that she doesn't want to appear pushy, but that she also really wants me to join. She sighs. "A compromise then? Join the Student Council, work with us. I'll bring you along as an advisor to any business I would take my peerage to. This will give you a chance to see what it would be like for yourself. I can be patient, and I'm sure I can convince you eventually."</p><p>I hesitate. She wouldn't convince me, but spending more time with them and being plot-relevant did sound nice. That being said, there was an issue. "Not to sound lazy or petulant, but the time commitment of Student Council work is a bit more than I can fit in my schedule without some pretty big changes that I don't really want to make."</p><p>"That's fine actually," Sona replies immediately. "You can just join on a provisional basis. So long as you have time to join us at least twice a week after school, and whenever you want for lunch, then that will be enough for now."</p><p>I could definitely spare that much time to get closer to the Student Council. "In that case, I accept joining the Student Council on a provisional basis. Thank you for having me."</p><p>"No, thank you, Axton," Sona replies, a smile on her face. "Now, let's set aside the business talk and focus on this game."</p><p>Neither of us had made a move in several minutes. "Right, yes. I think I have a shot this time." I start using [Erotic Pierrot] on her again, having stopped when she asked me to join her peerage.</p><p>"You are certainly doing better than your last game, but still have a ways to go before you can beat me," She brags. And it was partially true, but not to the extent she made it sound. She still definitely had the edge, but every advantage she had earned had cost her, and I wasn't going down without a fight this time.</p><p>"Oh? Axton is trying to beat the President at chess? And didn't he call her beautiful earlier?" Ruruko comments. Sona freezes, and there's just a tinge of blush on her cheeks.</p><p>"Both of those are true," I say, feigning ignorance to the implied connection even as I ramped up [Erotic Pierrot] on Sona. "Sona has managed to stir my competitive spirit when it comes to chess, so I am of course aiming to beat her. And she is definitely beautiful, there is no denying that."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Sona Sitri</strong>
</p><p>"Yes. Well," Sona says, slightly flustered. "I'm glad I can be such a source of inspiration for you to improve your own skills so quickly. And thank you for the compliment. But we still have a game to finish, and we should do so before lunch is over." She shoots Ruruko a glare. Ruruko responds by grinning but doesn't comment further.</p><p>The conversation after that died down, and the only sounds were me and Sona voicing our commands, the occasional 'ooh' or 'aah' from Ruruko, and the sound of the chess pieces moving over the board and cutting down the other pieces. Sona's eyes lit up whenever that last one happened.</p><p>Soon enough though, the game came to an end, as much as I tried to delay it. But in the end, delaying was all I could do as I was left only with a pawn, a rook, and a king, compared to the six pieces Sona still had, most of them surrounding my king.</p><p>"Well, you were right," I say. "But I came close, and a little more practice can get me there I think." As I concede, Sona's black pieces silently cheer before all of the pieces are repaired and take their positions back on the board.</p><p>"I'll have to step up my own efforts to make sure that doesn't happen. I admit I've grown complacent, so sure no one could threaten me. But you have definitely proven that someone dedicated enough could do so."</p><p>I laugh. "I'm glad I could be of assistance. By the way, please, keep the chess set as a gift. You are pretty much the only person I play against not using an app, and I feel like you could put it to better use than I."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Sona Sitri</strong>
</p><p>She seems surprised but pleased. "Thank you, Axton. I'll cherish it."</p><p>I look at the time. "If that's all? Lunch is almost over."</p><p>"Rias wants to talk to you as well," Sona says. "She asked me to ask you to head to her clubroom after classes."</p><p>I pause. "Is she also going to try to convince me to join her peerage?" Sona averts her eyes. I sigh. "Yeah, I'll be there."</p><p>I stand up, and Momo stands with me. "I'll walk you to your class," she says. I smile at her and nod, and the two of us leave the Student Council room together.</p><p>"I'm sorry I didn't accept Sona's offer," I say to Momo as we walk through the halls.</p><p>She shakes her head. "No, you should do what you think is best for you. Either way, we can spend time together."</p><p>"True, especially with me joining the Student Council," I agree. "Speaking of, I'm guessing you already talked to Ruruko?"</p><p>"This morning, yes, and she's definitely interested, though wants to get to know you better on her own." She looks at me with a small smile. "So how did things go with Aika and Atsuko?"</p><p>"Pretty well," I say, slightly awkwardly. Even with her explicit agreement, it feels weird to be so open about it. "I laid out the whole thing, and they seemed to be okay with it. Hell, they were practically enthusiastic about it."</p><p>"I'm glad to hear it. We'll all have to hang out soon."</p><p>"I'll come up with a good group activity for us," I say. I look around. There aren't any students in sight, and we're getting close to my classroom. I turn to Momo and pull her into a deep kiss. She's a little surprised, but immediately leans in and kisses me back. When I pull back, we're both breathing just a little harder. "And don't worry, you're still important to me, no matter what."</p><p>She smiles at me. "I know. I'm not worried about that anymore." She steps back, glancing around. "As much as I enjoy kissing you, you need to get back to class, and I to the Student Council room."</p><p>"If I have to," I say with an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. "I'll see you later then?"</p><p>"Tomorrow, most likely," she says.</p><p>"Tomorrow then," I say.</p><p>As I watch her walk away, I contemplate the meeting I have with Rias later. I know she's desperate for a strong peerage member because of Riser, but no one knows I know this. A grin forms on my face.</p><p>I wonder how much fun I can have by using that to my advantage?</p><hr/>
<hr/><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 143<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Void Mage(43/100)[39%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 4620 (92.4 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 14100 (282 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3880 (77.6 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 231<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 169(194)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 374<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 470<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 356<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 171<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 273(283)</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Skills: Sneak - Lv. 82, Lockpicking - Lv. 39, Sleight of Hand - Lv. 72, Backstab - Lv. 75, Pickpocket - Lv. 1, Erotic Pierrot - Lv. 30, Disguise - Lv. 1, Eavesdrop - Lv. 49, Alchemy - Lv. 67, Parkour - Lv. 53, Detect - Lv. 65, Trapping - Lv. 27, Chameleon - Lv. 77, Clean Blood - Lv. 1, Decode - Lv. 1, Gardening - Lv. 1, Hacking - Lv. 1, Overgrow - Lv. 1, Photosynthesis - Lv. 53, Track - Lv. 22, Cold Reading - Lv. 37, Mentor - Lv. 20, Spider Climb - Lv. 30, Knockout - Lv. 1, Poison Resistance - Lv. 58, Unnatural Rhythm - Lv. 39, Massage - Lv. 38, Shadow Step - Lv. 26, Ghost - Lv. 34, Void Beam - Lv. 26, Void Sense - Lv. 23, Void Edge - Lv. 35, Touch of Pleasure - Lv. 38, Increase Sensitivity - Lv. 1, Void Blood - Lv. 1, Void Drain - Lv. 15, Audiokinesis - Lv. 18, Bone Manipulation - Lv. 1, Doppelganger - Lv. 1</strong>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Gonna start posting this character sheet at the end of every chapter. Partially for my own purposes, in case I need to go back and keep track of something, but also for those who like to see that sort of thing. Some things don't always get made clear in the chapter, especially a lot of the skills that level up passively. Sorry the skill list is so hard to read, making it more readable would take up way too much space.</p><p>The first scene with Momo was originally not going to be a thing at all. But, like many of the best parts of this fic, I went to go write it, realized that it would turn out a certain way, and bam, steamy shower lewds with a secret third person. If only surprises were so fun in real life.</p><p>In fact, most of this chapter is scenes that ended up longer and more expanded on than I expected.</p><p>Lewd Skill Gems are my answer to Eromancy, since I didn't really want to make it a whole class he'd have to level through. I think it fits Kyu's whole schtick fairly well too.</p><p>Don't know if the stuff Sona said at the end about Devils is canon, but fuck it this is fanfic this is how it is here. Axton will not become a Devil, but I wanted to keep the possibility open so that Rias and Sona will continue to try to recruit him because there are all sorts of fun things I can do with that as a writer.</p><p>Long chapter because it's been a long weekend in-story and I wanted to at least get to some of the plot stuff that picks up at school.</p><p>Also wow one of these days I'll release a chapter without preceding it with Patch Notes fixing shit, but oh boy today is not that day.</p><p>The next chapter will be delayed slightly as I take some time to actually plan shit out. This fic started out improv, but I'm hitting the point where I need at least a rough outline so I make sure I don't forget anything. There are a lot of irons in the fire, so I need to organize them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. DxD: Recruitment Week 03</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiyome Abe was eating lunch in the cafeteria with a few friends when she saw it. A flicker of movement disappeared around a corner, much too small to be a person, and it looked to her to be furry. It was far too fast to be a mundane animal, and none of the Devils had a familiar like that, not that she knew of at least. She doubted anyone else saw it, but she was more attuned to small and quick creatures than most of her peers.</p>
<p>So she excused herself from her friends, citing a need to use the restroom, and followed to where she saw it go. When she turned the same corner, she didn't see it anywhere, but she didn't let that dissuade her. Instead, she made sure no one else was in the hallway with her before she opened a window and whistled.</p>
<p>A few moments later a bird of some kind landed on the windowsill. To a normal passerby, it would look like a rather large raven with strange eyes. But anyone with a sense of magic would be able to tell that this was no normal bird.</p>
<p>"There's something in the school," Kiyome addressed the bird. "Smaller than you, gray fur and it moves fast. I only caught a glimpse of it. Circle the school and keep an eye out for it, call out if you see it."</p>
<p>The bird took off with a small noise and Kiyome turned away after closing the window again. She was about to continue her search in the direction she saw the gray flash of fur go but stopped when she heard a small noise behind her. She looked the opposite direction she was going to head and saw, far at the end of the hallway, the unmistakable form of a cat. No, not a cat, a kitten, not yet fully grown.</p>
<p>The kitten swished it's tail and meowed, the sound of it barely able to reach Kiyome's ears, before it took off in a flash around the corner, revealing itself to be the blur from earlier.</p>
<p>Kiyome didn't hesitate to take off after the cat, though her mind was racing. She didn't sense any magic coming off of it, not even the amount a normal kitten of that size would have. And it obviously wasn't a normal kitten, not with that speed. And if she wasn't mistaken, it had taunted her and let her see it, implying a sort of intelligence.</p>
<p>An illusion then? Possible. She would have to proceed with caution. But her gut was telling her it wasn't an illusion. If it was, it was a very good one. The way the cat moved matched the way she had seen beasts of similar size and speed move, and that wasn't an easy thing to fake.</p>
<p>Her feet carried her around the corner just in the time to see a tail disappear around another corner.</p>
<p>Kiyome smiled, a determined look on her face. If this kitten wanted a chase, she was glad to oblige. Her work with magical beasts kept her active, and one mysterious kitten wasn't enough to get her to back down.</p>
<p>Uncaring of who might see her, she sprinted down the hallway after the gray cat.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Once classes are over, I head towards the Occult Research Club. I spent some time thinking over the best ways to respond to Rias, but there are too many ways she can approach me, so I gave up and decided just to wing it. It's the strategy that has worked for me well so far.</p>
<p>I knock on the front door and it opens almost immediately to reveal Akeno there. Interestingly, she's not wearing her school uniform, and instead is wearing a simple black skirt and a white blouse that exposes a lot of cleavage, with a hint of bra peeking out.</p>
<p>"Hello Axton," she greets me with a smile. "Please, come in." She steps away from the door, giving me room to enter, and I do so.</p>
<p>"That outfit looks very good on you Akeno," I compliment her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p>
<p>Her smile turns flirtatious. "Oh? I'm glad you think so, it's one of my favorites." She closes the door behind me and indicates a nearby couch. "Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Rias will be available shortly."</p>
<p>"No rush," I say easily as I sit down on the couch. "I don't have anything in particular to do today." It's only as I'm sitting down that I hear the sound of running water. I look around the room, seeing only Akeno and me in here before my eyes fall on one corner of the room where the sound is coming from.</p>
<p>There's a curtain dividing the corner of the room from the rest of it, but it's thin enough that I can see the outline of the person behind it, and what an outline it is. The water I can hear and the way the silhouette is moving, it's hands running through hair and sensually down their body, makes me certain that <em>someone</em> is taking a shower. And my memory of DxD and the voluptuous figure I see makes me certain that it is Rias Gremory behind that shower curtain.</p>
<p>Sona most likely told her that I wasn't interested in becoming a devil. Between Akeno's outfit and this shower thing, it seems likely that her plan is to seduce me into joining them. It's hard not to grin at the thought. It's both the best and worst way to deal with me. Oh sure, I'm mostly motivated by my sex drive, but I'm also not an idiot. I'm patient, and I already have several girls that I'm sleeping with, so any temptation Rias can offer is going to be pretty weak.</p>
<p>I'll have to make sure to make it look like it's working though. I want to see how far she'll go. This right here is nothing, she was already pretty comfortable being naked around even someone like Issei. Though I wonder if it's an actual fetish of hers? I try using [Lewd Scouter] on her, but it seems like the shower curtain is enough to block it. How about [Erotic Pierrot]? I try, and I get the sense of it working as I adjust her arousal up quite a bit.</p>
<p>I can see her pause in response and I wonder what kind of expression she's making. Is she surprised? Is she struggling not to start touching herself? It's impossible to tell, but imagining it is actually starting to arouse me.</p>
<p>However she feels about it, her next action is to turn off the shower. The sound of water stops, and I see Akeno step behind the curtain, towel in hand. Rias steps out of the shower, and I can actually see just a little bit of her feet in the gap between the shower curtain and the floor.</p>
<p>Akeno hands her the towel and I watch her silhouette as she dries off. She takes her time doing so, putting on a show. You don't normally bend over that much when drying off with a towel, and neither do you cover so little skin with your towel at any given time. I wasn't going to complain though, especially when she follows it up with a similar show of getting dressed.</p>
<p>But eventually, the show ends, and she steps out of the curtain with Akeno behind her. I stop using [Erotic Pierrot] when I see her dressed, though I am surprised at her outfit. She's wearing a sleeveless sweater that hugs her body tightly, accentuating her generous curves, and below it is wearing just a short black skirt.</p>
<p>She smiles at me as she walks over to the couch. "I'm sorry about that Axton," she says. "Akeno and I have something to do later this evening and I thought I had enough time to enjoy a shower before you got here." She sits down on the couch opposite me while Akeno goes over to the small kitchenette. "Unfortunately it seems that I dallied in the shower a little too long. I do enjoy a nice steamy shower." She delivers that last line with a suggestive smile.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it," I reply. "You didn't make me wait long, and I fully understand the allure of a hot shower." Now that she's out of the shower though, I can use my skills. First, [Observe]</p>
<p><strong>Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 119<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 2040<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 3690<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 1650<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 68<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 55<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 48<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 123<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 112<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 164<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 333</strong></p>
<p>That roughly matches what I expected. Not as strong as Sona, but better than any of the Reincarnated Devils. But what does stand out is her LUK stat. Normally LUK is the lowest stat, but hers is more than twice as high as her second-highest stat. It's even higher than my LUK stat, which I thought was pretty high.</p>
<p>Next, I use [Lewd Scouter].</p>
<p><strong>Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderately Low<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 28<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Bisexual<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Exhibitionism, Public Sex</strong></p>
<p>Also mostly what I expected, including the exhibitionism. The public sex fetish is a little surprising though. Sure, it's a natural extension of exhibitionism, but it also seems a bit advanced for her, at least based on my impression. Then again, this is a more lewd version of canon, perhaps that change resulted in an increase in her fetishes?</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I turn [Lewd Scouter] on Akeno.</p>
<p><strong>Akeno Himejima<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 25<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Bisexual<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: BDSM, Domming, Subbing</strong></p>
<p>That's right, she's a switch. Predominantly a sadist but enjoys being on the other side of the equation as well.</p>
<p>I turn my attention back to Rias. "So, Sona said you wanted to talk to me, but didn't mention what you wanted to talk about."</p>
<p>"Straight to business then?" Rias asks. "Alright. Yes, I wished to speak to you about something. Sona invited you to join her peerage correct? And to join the Student Council?"</p>
<p>"Yes, she did," I answered. "The Student Council position I provisionally accepted. The Peerage invite I did not."</p>
<p>"And why not?" Rias asks, not surprised by my answer, confirming that she and Sona have talked since I met with Sona at lunch. "There are many benefits to being a Devil, benefits that I believe that someone like you would rather enjoy."</p>
<p>Akeno walks over with a tray of teacups and sets it down on the table between me and Rias. She does so from the opposite side of the table of me and bends at the waist, giving me a clear look down her shirt. My eyes are of course drawn to the sight. I tear my eyes away only to lock gazes for a split second with Akeno, who is smirking.</p>
<p>"I'm not convinced I would get as much out of it as you seem to think I would," I reply as Akeno sits down on the couch next to me, rather than next to Rias. She sits close enough that our legs are touching.</p>
<p>I'm honestly surprised by how coordinated their actions are. It's clear that they're trying to seduce me. The shower, their outfits, and Akeno's actions are all things that are meant to arouse and entice me. And it's working, though only physically. I'm starting to get aroused, though I'm not yet hard enough that I'm pitching a tent. At this rate though, I will be soon.</p>
<p>If they're going to work so hard, I might as well 'reward' them for doing so, shouldn't I? Earlier in class I was perusing my skill list when I noticed that the description for [Erotic Pierrot] had changed.</p>
<p><strong>[Erotic Pierrot] - Level 30(32%)<br/></strong> <strong>Manipulate the lust of up to five targets within eyesight. Cost 50MP/s per target</strong></p>
<p>At some point, likely level 25, the skill had upgraded so I can now use it on multiple people at the same time. Targeting both Rias and Akeno, I start slowly increasing their arousal. I don't want to make them super horny, but I <em>do</em> want them to get aroused just trying to seduce me. They should enjoy it as much as I do after all.</p>
<p>"Maybe not in terms of strength," Rias agrees. "Unlike Sona, I saw the aftermath of the fight between you and the Fallen. You're already powerful for sure. Being a Devil would help you improve that power faster and prevent hitting some early walls in terms of power growth, but wouldn't be a very large improvement in the short term. However, there's more to being a Devil than just strength. We have our own society, with its own rules and perks."</p>
<p>She crosses her legs, and the movement draws my eye, which is why I notice the flash of briefly visible panties. If I'm not mistaken, she's wearing lace. Very translucent lace. I look back at her face to find her smirking as well. "There are a lot of benefits to being part of that. Devils are a lot more open about indulging in things the church would consider a sin."</p>
<p>"Momo did describe Devil society and culture to me, at least in the broad strokes," I say, struggling to keep a neutral face. Finding the right balance of making them think their seductions are working on me but still seeming to put up a fight against them is tricky. "Aspects of it certainly seem enticing, but still not worth the cost of entry."</p>
<p>Akeno leans over me, grabbing the teapot from the tray and pouring a cup of tea. Her body pushes up against mine, deliberately so. When she leans back to hand me the cup she just poured, she remains pressed up against me, the soft mounds of her breasts pressing against my shoulders and the rest of her pushed against my side. My erection stiffens a little more at the feeling of her soft body against mine.</p>
<p>I curse the amount of clothing between us. [Touch of Pleasure] requires skin to skin contact, and using it would make this so much sweeter. I activate it anyway, just in case she escalates.</p>
<p>"That's where I hope to change your mind," Rias says. "You know that you could eventually come to have your own peerage right? I would wager that you could raise through the ranks rather quickly with the right motivation." She uncrosses her legs, flashing me again. "Many Devils use their peerages as harems, creating a collection of beauties."</p>
<p>"Momo did describe that much," I say, ignoring Akeno's fingers as they brush against my thigh where our legs touched. "She also told me about the recent surge in popularity of harems."</p>
<p>"I'm guessing she told you this before giving you her blessing to create your own harem?" Rias asks.</p>
<p>She knows about that? I guess it isn't a secret. Momo told Ruruko, and Sona saw how Ruruko was acting. Momo probably explained things to Sona, who then told Rias. It's probably why they are aiming for the whole seduction thing in the first place, having pegged me as a lust-driven person. Which isn't entirely wrong.</p>
<p>That actually makes things easier, as I can respond to their flirtations without having them think I'm cheating. I relax, allowing some of the tension to flow out of me, and lean ever so slightly into Akeno. Her brushing fingers turned into her hand fully resting on my thigh.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it was right before that," I answer. "Being able to date multiple women is definitely an aspect of Devil culture I appreciate."</p>
<p>At my words and actions, Rias's smirk turns into a grin of victory. She thinks she has me. I respond by increasing my use of [Erotic Pierrot] a little.</p>
<p>"You also added your two classmates to your harem, practically immediately, correct?" She asks. I nod. "If you were to become a devil and rise up and create your own peerage, you could reincarnate both of them as well, and they would both receive all the benefits of being a devil, including the longevity. You could live a long and happy life with all the girls you love."</p>
<p>"Something I want for sure," I say. "But I'm confident I can figure out how to do that on my own. My potions are rather impressive, and I get better with them every day." Akeno's fingers start moving lightly where they're positioned on my thigh, and her hand moves ever so slightly closer to my dick, which is now noticeably bulging in my pants.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p>
<p>I wonder if that is for being aroused, or my dick size? Or perhaps both? I notice Rias's eyes flicker to the bulge in my pants as well and increase the strength of [Erotic Pierrot] on them again.</p>
<p>"But that's a gamble," Rias says. She spreads her legs slightly, just enough to look casual but still give me a clear view of under her skirt. Her panties are indeed sheer black lace, though the important parts aren't transparent enough to see through. Even without that, it's an arousing view, and I harden considerably.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p>
<p>Rias grins wider and keeps talking. "How long might it take to come up with a solution like that, if you even can? Or what if it's the lesser solution? Turning into a devil now would get you started as soon as possible in rising up through the ranks.</p>
<p>"Maybe," I hedge. I make a show of trying and failing not to look up her skirt. "So should I consider this you officially inviting me to your Peerage? Trying to entice me to your Peerage instead of Sona's?"</p>
<p>"Oh yes. I would very much appreciate it if you joined my peerage, at least in the short term. I have...an event coming up that I believe you could be a great help with, but you have to be part of my peerage to participate. After that, I would be fine in giving you over to Sona if you wanted to be closer to Momo." Her grin turns salacious and she spreads her legs a little further. "Though I would be more than happy to keep you in mine. We could make you very happy here."</p>
<p>I swallow, acting slightly nervous and unsure as I buy time to check them both with [Lewd Scouter]. They're both at High arousal now. I increase my efforts with [Erotic Pierrot].</p>
<p>"That much I can believe," I say as I keep staring up Rias's skirt. She did it on purpose and wants me to look, so I may as well indulge. Perhaps sensing I'm close to breaking, or perhaps just getting into the mood of things as she gets hornier, she spreads her legs even more, definitely past the point of plausible deniability. Her skirt rides up and exposes her so much that pretty much anyone else in the room would be able to see her panties.</p>
<p>Akeno follows her King's lead and moves her hand to directly on top of my erection, causing it to twitch slightly. She traces along its length with a finger and I shiver as a wave of pleasure rushes through me.</p>
<p>"You once said that we were described as the two prettiest girls in school and that you agreed with that description. Doesn't the idea of being able to spend all of your time with the two of us sound good? We could all live in the same house, eat meals together, takes baths together, and sleep in the same bed. Isn't that the kind of life you want to live?"</p>
<p>I hesitate, trying to look torn. Honestly, it's not a hard act. She paints an extremely appealing picture. I might be the type of guy to prefer someone like Sona, but I'm very aware of the ways that Rias is appealing, especially in this scenario.</p>
<p>Akeno uses my hesitation to make her own move. She quickly repositions herself so she's straddling me, her weight on my lap and her massive boobs in my face. "Did you know," she says conversationally as she grabs my wrists. "There aren't any unattractive devils? Or not in their own eyes at least." She guides my hands and places them on her tits. My hands reflexively squeeze, relishing the softness of the feeling. She smiles at me encouragingly, and I keep up my groping. "We're all very minor shapeshifters. We can't change quickly, but over time our bodies change more towards our ideal self. This results in pretty much every Devil being <em>very</em> attractive. Rias and I were born with good looks, but some of the older Devils are even more beautiful than us. For now, at least. We're both still young and growing after all." She giggles.</p>
<p>"I didn't know that," I say as I once again curse the cloth that lay between me and Akeno, preventing me from touching her directly. I don't stop groping her over her clothes though, it was still a very enjoyable experience.</p>
<p>Akeno leans in, putting her boobs closer to my face, and whispers. "If you become a devil, you can meet all these beautiful devil women. And if you make your own peerage, you can turn any woman into a devil who will only get more attractive over time. Aren't devils the best?"</p>
<p>There was a part of me, specifically a lower part of me that was currently pressed against the soft flesh of her ass and upper thigh as she sat on it, that really wanted to agree with her. The picture the two of them painted was everything I wanted.</p>
<p>I forced myself to remember the costs though, the shackles that came with it. Even temporary, they weren't worth it. Not when I had the Game, which provided an alternative, if not better, way to all the things they described.</p>
<p>Still, their persuasion attempts netted me more than I thought they would, and there was no way I was going to just shut that down. I make myself look as if I'm seriously tempted. Again, it's not a hard act.</p>
<p>"I-," I start before pausing. "I'll think about it." I'm careful to say it in a tone that implies I'm hooked but unwilling to be hasty.</p>
<p>Akeno grins and gets off of me, separating my hands and her boobs. "Good. Don't take too long to think about it though, or else I'll get lonely."</p>
<p>With my view no longer obscured I can see Rias again, and she looks pleased. Her legs are closed now, though her skirt is still ridden up, allowing me to see a bit of the upper part of her panties.</p>
<p>"I understand," Rias says with a gentle smile. "This isn't the sort of decision you should rush into. How about this? Sona told me how you joined the Student Council to see what Devil life is like. Why don't you join the Occult Research Club as well, in a similarly provisional manner? Sona and I do things a little differently, and you could benefit from getting both experiences. And that way we can spend more quality time together."</p>
<p>"Sure, that sounds like it could be fun," I reply. "We should exchange numbers, to make it easier to keep in contact with each other." I had forgotten to do that with the Student Council, but more numbers of more pretty girls is always a good thing.</p>
<p>We take a few moments to pull out our cell phones and trade numbers. "There we go," Rias says once we're done. "Now that you're part of our club, you can come here anytime you feel like it, even during classes. I'll text you if we have anything interesting going on that day. Or if I just want to talk." She winks with that last statement.</p>
<p>"I look forward to it," I say. I stand up, and I notice that my pants have a rather noticeable tent in them. Akeno's actions had gotten me fully erect, and it was obvious. Rias's eyes widen slightly as my crotch rises up to her eye level and she quickly stands up after me. "If that's all for today, I'll get out of your way so you can get ready for what you're doing later. Thank you for inviting me here today, it was very enjoyable."</p>
<p>"No, thank you for coming," Rias says. "And I hope we see a lot more of you in the future."</p>
<p>"Oh I'm sure that will be the case," I say with a smirk. I say goodbye to both of them and leave the club room.</p>
<p>I have mixed feelings about how this turned out. On one hand, I hate feeling like I've lost this encounter somehow, that Rias has me roped in so easily. But on the other hand, that's exactly what I was aiming for, so it's mission accomplished. Though honestly, the worst part is how I have to leave with a throbbing erection.</p>
<p>I activate [Detect] and [Void Sense]. Hopefully Aika and Atsuko are still hanging around somewhere and they can help me with it.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As the door shut behind Axton, Rias allowed herself to sit back down and relax. She sighed heavily. Akeno stood up and moved behind her and started to gently rub Rias's shoulders.</p>
<p>"I didn't expect seduction to be so tiring," Rias complains. "I feel like I barely did anything besides flash him, so how can it be so tiring?"</p>
<p>"You did much more than that," Akeno countered. "The physical aspects of seduction are an important part for sure, but it's the mental ones that can leave you feeling tired, especially if you're not used to it. Having to weigh each word, decide exactly how to move and when, reading the other person to see how they're reacting, and deciding your next course of action. For someone who's never actively tried to seduce someone, you did a very good job."</p>
<p>"If I did, it was all thanks to you," Rias said while she reached up and laid a hand on top of Akeno's hand. "I'm sorry I asked you to do something like that."</p>
<p>"Don't be sorry," Akeno replied. "I know it's important to get him with us, and that this is probably the best way to do so. Besides, I don't think I've ever enjoyed teasing someone as much as I did today." Akeno giggled. "And I certainly wouldn't mind going a little farther with him, he's just my type. Did you see how big he is?"</p>
<p>"I did," Rias answered in a tone that was almost but not quite casual. A hint of blush appeared on her face. "It was rather hard to miss when he stood up like that." Akeno laughed softly.</p>
<p>The two girls remained silent for a moment while Akeno rubbed Rias's shoulders. "Do you think it worked though?" Rias eventually asked.</p>
<p>"Hmm," Akeno hummed. "I think so. He's too cautious to immediately jump ship, but I can tell he was swayed by your arguments as much as he was our seduction. At this point, he's just being stubborn I think. We just need to make being a Devil more enticing than his stubbornness." Akeno grinned. "And I have some <em>ideas</em> on how to do that."</p>
<p>Rias sighed again. "Of course you do. Okay, lay it on me. Let's figure out how we're going to do it."</p>
<p>Akeno grinned, looking forward to the things she could do with Axton and to seeing how far she could get Rias to go. Rias was her best friend, and Akeno believed that she would be a lot happier if she let herself have more fun and not worry so much about her status. And Axton was the perfect target for that.</p>
<hr/>
<p>I don't find Aika or Atsuko, but without further stimulus, my boner dies down on its own anyway. Which is probably a good thing considering I'm walking around school and there are plenty of students still here. I'm still horny though. Before I forget, I text Momo and ask her to pass my number around to the Student Council members.</p>
<p>Just as I'm about to text Aika and ask where she is I notice a group of people with [Detect]. Considering that the clubs are meeting right now, the group isn't the special part. But this one is a bit bigger and one of the members is distinctly Devil. Curious, I turn towards the group and head in that direction.</p>
<p>I find the group around one of the buildings behind the school, detached from the main building. I don't recognize it until I hear the sounds of wood smacking against wood and see the group crowding the door. Half the group is wearing Kendo gear, though the rest are just in their school uniforms.</p>
<p>I peek over the heads of the crowd around the door to look inside and sure enough, two people are having a Kendo match right now. [Detect] marks the one on my left as being the Devil, though I would have been able to guess that by how well they are doing. I have no knowledge of Kendo as a sport, but it's clear that they're the more skilled of the two.</p>
<p>The rest of the match is quick, with the Devil slipped past a thrust and striking their opponent on their helmeted head. The match is called and the two bow at each other respectfully before taking off their helmets.</p>
<p>The girl on the right I didn't recognize, but the Devil is revealed to be Kiba himself. So this is why he wasn't in the Occult Research Club room. I clap along with the rest of the crowd watching the match. The girl in front of me starts a little, most likely not realizing that I had come up to stand behind her. She turns her head to look at me and I'm surprised to see that it's Murayama.</p>
<p>She looks surprised as well, but quickly her surprise turns into a smile and she gets the attention of the girl next to her, who turns out to be Katase. Katase turns towards her and then sees me.</p>
<p>"Axton," Murayama greets me. "What brings you out here?"</p>
<p>Murayama and Katase were both in the same class as me, Aika, and Atsuko. We haven't talked yet, but we've traded glances several times since Aika talked me up to them. I've simply been too busy or distracted to talk to them in person.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I'm not at all busy right now. "Not much," I reply. "I had something to take care of earlier and I noticed the big crowd, so I thought I would come to see what's up. I didn't expect to be lucky enough to run into the two of you."</p>
<p>They smile appreciatively at the comment. "Well this is the Kendo club, we're here most days after school," Katase says.</p>
<p>"I didn't know Kiba was part of the Kendo club," I comment.</p>
<p>"He's not," Murayama says. "The Kendo club is girls only. But he comes by every once in a while and spars with us."</p>
<p>"You wanna spar too?" Katase asks. "I'd love to see how you handle your weapon." She winks suggestively.</p>
<p>"I'd love to spar against you," I hear Kiba say. I blink. I was too distracted by the girls and didn't notice that Kiba had walked over to us. "From the way you carry yourself, you must be pretty good with a sword, right?"</p>
<p>I raise an eyebrow at him, wondering what he's thinking. "I don't have any formal training or anything, but I know my way around a blade yeah. I've never really used a katana though, I've always been more of a fan of Western blades myself."</p>
<p>"As it happens, so am I. What do you think of a more informal spar then? I won't ask you to try to pick up Kendo, and you can use whatever style you're most comfortable with." He turns his attention to the girls around us. "That is if that's okay with you girls? I know it's a Kendo club, but seeing other kinds of swordsmanship could be helpful to you guys."</p>
<p>I hear the crowd murmuring around us. "Kiba and Axton are going to fight?" "We get to see them use their weapons on each other?" "Ooh, the blond knight and the dark-haired mysterious transfer, that is a good pairing." "Which one do you think would top?" "Kiba, obviously." "No no, just look at Axton. He's totally the more aggressive one."</p>
<p>That's right, Kiba has a fan club of yaoi fangirls, doesn't he? I tune them out as Murayama speaks up. "Hmm. Yeah, that should be fine. Only one match though, it's almost time to go home."</p>
<p>"One match should be plenty I think," Kiba says before turning his attention back to me. "So? Are you interested, Axton?"</p>
<p>"I'm down," I say. "I could do with some exercise." Plus, I want to try my hand against an actual swordsman, and not just a skeleton swinging around sharpened steel.</p>
<p>The excited crowd around us directs both of us to the arena. A bamboo sword gets shoved into my hand but I turn down the offer of protective equipment. Kiba keeps his helmet off. Before I know it it's just me and Kiba with a wide space around us.</p>
<p>I feel the weight of the sword in my hand. It's slightly heavier than any of my knives and the weight of it is a lot further up than I'm used to, but my STR is high enough that it's a non-issue. I look at Kiba. "So, how do you want to do this then?"</p>
<p>"First blood?" he suggests.</p>
<p>"Moderate wounds only?" I request. "I don't want to lose to an insignificant nick."</p>
<p>He nods. "That's fine by me."</p>
<p>We both take a ready stance. He holds his bamboo sword in a two-handed grip, though it's the point is lower than it normally is for Kendo. A western greatsword stance then? I take a more casual stance, my left foot forward and my sword held near my right hip, the tip pointed out to my side.</p>
<p>Seeing the two of us ready, Katase raises her hand up high and the crowd goes silent. There's a tense moment as Kiba and I stare at each other, waiting for the signal. Katase's hand drops with a shout and I immediately step in and parry Kiba's rushing thrust.</p>
<p>Kiba constrained himself to human levels of speed when he rushed me, but only barely. Deciding to play his game, I limit my own speed to the same level, which means that I'm unable to take advantage of my parry before he's recovered.</p>
<p>Kiba probes my defenses with some light thrusts and small slashes but isn't willing to commit to any of them. I have no desire to let him set the pace of this, so I disrupt his attacks by pushing forward more aggressively. Kiba is definitely the better swordsman of the two of us, so I can't let him take control like that.</p>
<p>Kiba deflects my blows but is forced to step back as I push up. I find myself wishing I had a knife, or at least a short sword because I can't get as close as I would like to with such a long weapon.</p>
<p>I throw in a feint towards his arm before redirecting it suddenly to his gut. His eyes widen and I think I have him, but he suddenly speeds up and knocks my sword wide, leaving my guard open.</p>
<p>That was definitely faster than a normal person could move. I grin. Alright, if we're gonna play like that, I'm down. My stats are several times larger than his, I'm okay turning this into a competition of strength and speed. I speed up my own movements to match his.</p>
<p>For a while, we continue like this. Each time one of us almost gets a blow on the other, the other would speed up enough to be able to block it. Before long the hall was filled with the rapid clacking of our swords impacting each other as blows were parried and deflected.</p>
<p>I'm starting to struggle. As Kiba gets closer to his full speed, his technique begins to give him the edge, and the tip of his bamboo sword grazes my clothes on a few occasions. I'm switching to focusing more on fighting defensively, only making attacks in an attempt to disrupt his rhythm.</p>
<p>Kiba, perhaps sensing that victory is near, increases his speed again, but only slightly. I narrow my eyes. Why would he hold back now? I increase my own speed further than he does, and push aggressively again, going on the offensive for the first time in a while. Kiba's eyes widen as he's pushed back.</p>
<p>Once again I feint for his arm before redirecting it towards his gut, but this time the redirection is also a feint and I swipe down, aiming for a solid blow to his leg. I see the panic in his eyes as he realizes what I've done, desperately trying to step back out of range, but my sword impacts his leg, covered in protective gear, with a loud crack that reverberates in my ears.</p>
<p>The room falls silent, with no one moving or speaking. Kiba and I are both frozen. I'm not sure why he's not moving, but I'm honestly surprised that I hit him. It takes me a moment to figure out why I did, and I feel like an idiot for not noticing sooner. We had simply hit the point where he couldn't move any faster but I could.</p>
<p>I step back and rest my sword on my shoulder. "I guess that's my win," I say. I stick my hand out. "It was a good match though. By far the most intense sword fight I've ever been in."</p>
<p><strong>+12 Affection with Yuuto Kiba<br/></strong> <strong>+18 Affection with Murayama and Katase</strong></p>
<p>He grasps my hand and shakes it, a smile on his face. "I knew you were probably fast on your feet, but I wasn't expecting you to be <em>that</em> fast. Your form needs some work though."</p>
<p>"I'm better with a knife," I say. I look around to the surrounding members of the Kendo club, who have broken out into excited chatter. "Is it going to be okay that we let loose so much in plain view?"</p>
<p>"It's fine. I cast a minor spell beforehand so they wouldn't freak out if things got a little superhuman," he reassures me. "We have to use it whenever we do events with each other on school grounds."</p>
<p>"I see," I respond. Before we can continue our conversation Murayama and Katase walk up to us, eyes wide.</p>
<p>"That was amazing!" Murayama exclaims. "Kiba, I had no idea you were holding back on us so much."</p>
<p>He smiles but brushes off her compliment. "I come here to practice my Kendo, not my other forms of swordsmanship. I'm not nearly that good at Kendo."</p>
<p>"If you say so," Murayama said skeptically. She turns to me. "And Axton, I wouldn't have guessed you could handle a blade like that. Are you sure you don't have any training?"</p>
<p>"Nothing formal," I repeat. "But I've sparred with some people before, and my reflexes are pretty good."</p>
<p>"Too bad the club is girls only, or else I'd invite you to join," Murayama says. "With a bit of training, you could probably make it to nationals." She shakes her head before turning to the crowd around us. "Alright girls, the show's over and our time is up. Let's get cleaned up." As various members start cleaning up she turns back to me. "Hey Axton, are you free after this?"</p>
<p>"Sure, I don't have anything else going on today," I reply.</p>
<p>"Could you stick around then?" She asks. "There's something I want to talk to you about afterward." Katase nods in agreement.</p>
<p>"No problem. I'll wait just outside then, I don't want to get in your way."</p>
<p>She smiles and winks at me. "Thanks!" She turns around and starts directing the girls, getting them to clean faster. Kiba and I exchange looks before stepping outside. He's still wearing his protective gear, but considering how different it looks in terms of style and color compared to the gear the girls are wearing, I assume that it's his own things, rather than the clubs.</p>
<p>When we step outside, alone, Kiba speaks up. "Did Rias send you this way?" he asks.</p>
<p>"Nope, it was pure coincidence," I answer. "After meeting with her, I noticed a crowd over here and thought I would see what's up."</p>
<p>"I guess I do draw a crowd whenever I visit," Kiba laughs. "So then, how did the meeting with Rias go?"</p>
<p>"I didn't accept her offer," I say bluntly. "But I am considering it. Rias and Akeno can be very convincing."</p>
<p>He nods. "They're both very strong-willed, that's for certain." Sure Kiba, that's what I meant. He continues. "Well, if you're considering it, I'll say this much. I'd love to have a guy like you as part of our family, even if it's just for a bit. You seem like a good dude, and I think you'd be happy with us."</p>
<p>His sincere words catch me off guard. I double-check his Affection. It's at 28, which should be the level of a casual friend, only slightly more than an acquaintance. I guess Kiba is just that sort of guy, huh?</p>
<p>"Thanks, man," I say. "And even if I don't join up, I'd love to keep sparring with you. We could learn a lot from each other I think." I need to get experience against actual swordsmen so I'm not caught off guard when faced with a sword-wielding enemy that isn't just a pile of reanimated bones.</p>
<p>"It would be nice to train my swordsmanship against someone faster than me," he muses before smiling at me. "I'll take you up on that then."</p>
<p>"Hell yeah," I respond with a grin and I hold out a closed fist at him. He blinks at it, not understanding for a moment, before a look of realization washes over his face, and he grins and fistbumps me.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Yuuto Kiba</strong>
</p>
<p>Kiba looks at the sky where the sun is quickly approaching the treeline. "Well, I should get going now. Rias will be waiting for me now that you guys are done."</p>
<p>"See ya later man," I say and he nods at me before walking off in the direction of the Occult Research Club room.</p>
<p>To kill the time while I wait for Murayama and Katase, I pull out my phone and start up a chess match. I'm close to being able to beat Sona, I just need a little more practice.</p>
<p>As I'm playing, I receive several text messages. They're all from the members of the Student Council. I guess Momo did as I asked and gave them all my number. Most of the texts are simple hellos with a note of who they are so I can save their number. However, one of them has a picture attached.</p>
<p>Opening the picture reveals it to be a selfie of Ruruko. She has one of her hands up in a peace sign and she's wearing her school uniform still, though judging from the background I don't believe she's at school still.</p>
<p>I send back a reply to all of them, saying hello back and thanking them for their number. I make sure to compliment the photo of Ruruko when I respond to her, though it doesn't gain me any affection. I guess it's too high for something as simple as that to increase it.</p>
<p>I finish responding to texts and get back to my chess game, but before I can finish it I see Murayama and Katase walk out of the Kendo building wearing their school uniforms. I put away my phone and smile as they approach me.</p>
<p>"So what can I do for you girls?" I ask them.</p>
<p>"There's a new cafe close by that opened up not too long ago that we've been meaning to try," Murayama says. "How about we go there to talk?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "That's fine by me."</p>
<p>The two girls position themselves on either side of me and the three of us exit the school grounds and walk into town. I send a mental image to Yua to tell her to go home, and I feel her through our bond head that way.</p>
<p>On the way there we mostly talk about swordsmanship. They spend a little time explaining the rules of Kendo to me since I had only been vaguely aware of them before, and I explain that I definitely don't have any actual training and just fooled around with some people I knew when I was younger. During the conversation I manage to gain six more Affection with them, bringing them up to 42.</p>
<p>We enter and find a booth. Within moments a waitress in a rather short skirt and a deep cut top comes and takes our order. A glance over the menu shows that it's mostly pastries and fancy coffees. I order a scone and some coffee, while both of the girls order cake and tea.</p>
<p>"I can see why you wanted to check this place out," I say as I eye the long legs of the waitress as she walks away.</p>
<p>They just grin. "Did Aika tell you about us?" Katase asked.</p>
<p>I shake my head. "Not really. Just that you guys might be interested in some casual fun. She always mentioned you two as a package deal though, so I can make some guesses."</p>
<p>"Let me be explicit then," Murayama said. "Me and Katase are a couple, though we don't advertise that much. I'm trusting that won't be an issue?"</p>
<p>"Not at all," I say. "Love who you wanna love, sleep with whatever consenting person you want. But where do I fit in in that?"</p>
<p>"We're both bisexual, not lesbians," Katase says. "And we're both pretty hedonistic. Don't get me wrong, I'll spend every night with Murayama and always be satisfied, but we both enjoy some variety every now and then. We'll invite a person for a steamy threesome. Usually a guy, but sometimes a girl. There's a lot of very attractive girls at our school, but it's hard to tell which of them swing that way without asking them."</p>
<p>"Ah, I see," I say. "So Aika knows you guys do this, and so when me and Aika hook up she decides to introduce me to you guys, knowing I'd be down."</p>
<p>"We've actually asked Aika to join us in the past," Murayama says. "But sadly, she has no interest in girls. That's how she knows about it though."</p>
<p>I decide not to comment on how Aika is a bit more open-minded these days. Before I can say anything though, our waitress comes back with our food, bending over more than necessary to serve it to us, giving us a good look down her top.</p>
<p>I use the opportunity to use [Lewd Scouter] on both of them.</p>
<p><strong>Murayama<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 42<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Bisexual<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Threesomes, Vaginal</strong></p>
<p><strong>Katase<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 42<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Bisexual<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Threesomes, Anal</strong></p>
<p>As she leaves Murayama speaks up again. "So first, some ground rules," she says as she takes a bite of cake. "First, what happens today is between us. I guess Aika is okay to tell since she's the one who hooked us up and she knows not to talk. But this is a low key sort of thing, I don't want to hear stories about it at school."</p>
<p>"That won't be an issue," I say. "I'll keep quiet."</p>
<p>She nods, and Katase speaks up next. "Second, this is casual and a one-time thing. There've been a couple people we've invited more than once, but just because it's happening now doesn't mean it will again. We'll approach you if we want to go for it again."</p>
<p>"I can live with that," I reassure them. They're cute, but I'm fine just sleeping with them for the quest progression rather than adding them to my harem. And more than that, I'm confident I can get that invitation again if I change my mind.</p>
<p>"Third," Murayama says. "You can only stick it in my pussy."</p>
<p>"And I only do anal," Katase adds.</p>
<p>I would have been a bit more surprised by that if I hadn't used [Lewd Scouter] on them and seen their fetishes. "That's fine," I say. "I'm not particularly picky about that sort of thing."</p>
<p>They both smile at me, and I get the odd feeling that I just passed a job interview. "Good," Murayama says. "In that case after we finish up our food and you pay the bill, we'll head over to a love hotel and get this started."</p>
<p>It only takes a few minutes to scarf down the food and I leave twice the cost of our food on the table as payment and we walk out.</p>
<p>The two girls lead me into the section of town with all of the love hotels, but unlike the last time I was here, we don't stop at the first one we come across. Instead, we head deeper into the area. The love hotel we do go into looks just a little more ornate than most of the others we passed.</p>
<p>The girls quickly purchase a room, looking for an available one of a certain kind. As we take the elevator up, the two of them start clinging to me, pushing up against me.</p>
<p>"I hope your stamina is as good as Aika said it was," Katase says.</p>
<p>I wrap my arms around their waists, pulling them into me. "Oh it is, don't worry about that." They smile, and the elevator dings as we arrive at our floor.</p>
<p>As we enter the room they checked out, I look around, curious as to why they wanted a specific kind of room. It's not immediately apparent though. It's a nice room, nicer than the one I went to with Raynare, but otherwise not notable.</p>
<p>"Go sit down on the bed and wait for us," Murayama instructs me. "Katase and I need to get cleaned up and ready." The two of them enter the small bathroom right next to the entrance to the room. I shrug and do as they say.</p>
<p>It's when I sit down on the bed that I realize why they chose this specific room. I'm facing the wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the room, but it isn't really a wall. It's more of a window. The entire thing is made of glass, giving me a perfectly clear view inside.</p>
<p>Katase sees me notice and winks at me. The two of them start putting on a show, slowly stripping each other. They take their time, making sure I always have the best angle as they peel off each layer, displaying themselves to me.</p>
<p>Finally, they get down to just their underwear, and with a knowing grin, they slow down, drawing it out. They turn sideways so I can only see their profile, their breasts pushing up against each other. Simultaneously they unclip their bras and slip them off, but their nipples remain hidden by the others' boobs.</p>
<p>They stay like that for a moment before they start kissing, arms wrapped around each other's waists. I can feel my erection growing as I watch them make out, and I start slowly stripping my own clothes as well.</p>
<p>They separate after a few moments, as I'm unbuttoning my shirt. They turn to me with a grin before Katase kneels in front of Murayama, finally revealing both of their nipples, which are visibly hard. Katase brings her face close to Murayama's crotch before biting the top of her panties and slowly pulling them off with her teeth.</p>
<p>They're still angled so I can't see her now exposed pussy, but that only makes the scene more arousing. Once her panties are at her knees, Katase allows them to drop to the ground, and Murayama carefully steps out of them.</p>
<p>Things become less teasing as Katase then stands up with her rear facing me before bending over. Murayama, in front of her, grabs either side of Katase's panties, and slowly drags them down, revealing Katase's small perky ass, and the wet slit between her legs, perfectly framed.</p>
<p>I speed up my own stripping. I'm tempted to just store my clothes in my inventory but I know I can't. As the two girls step into the shower, hands held, I remove the last of my clothes, sitting there on the bed with my erection standing tall.</p>
<p>I lightly stroke myself as I watch them shower together. And by shower I mean they let the hot water run over them as they covered themselves in soap, made out with each other, and groped each other, giving me quite the show.</p>
<p>Soon they finish their show and step out of the shower before they dry off. They exit the bathroom and approach me, their hips swaying and seductive smiles on their faces. Quickly, I activate [Touch of Pleasure]. Without speaking, they push me back so I'm laying on the bed and crawl on top of me. Each one is straddling one of my legs and their heads are resting on my chest.</p>
<p>As one, they reach down and wrap their hands around my dick, which is just big enough for both of them to get their full hand on.</p>
<p>"Aika said you were big," Katase says in a breathy voice. "I didn't imagine it was this big though." The two of them start stroking me, jacking me off. Their hands twist in opposite directions even as they move up and down in tandem, creating a feeling unlike any I've felt before.</p>
<p>"It won't be a problem though," Murayama says. "We've used toys this big, we can make it fit."</p>
<p>My dick twitches. "You ladies sure know how to get a guy excited." I wrap my arms around them, grabbing their boobs and groping them while I pull them closer to me. I use my new lewd skill, [Increase Sensitivity] to make them feel it more. They both gasp lightly at the sensation.</p>
<p>"You're pretty good with your hands as well," Murayama replies with a grin. The two of them increase their pace, jerking me off faster. The sight of them stroking my dick is blocked by them raising their heads enough to start kissing each other again. In the moments where their lips separate I can see how intertwined their tongues are with each other.</p>
<p>Their earlier teasing got me pretty aroused and seeing them make out so close to me while they stroked my dick is enough to bring me to climax. With a grunt, I come, shooting strands of sticky cum upwards with enough force that some of it lands on Murayama and Katase's faces and boobs. Though most of it lands on my own stomach.</p>
<p>The two girls pull away from each other, breaking their kiss. Katase uses a finger to collect some cum on a fingertip before putting it in her mouth. My dick twitches in response.</p>
<p>"Still hard?" Katase asks as she squeezes me. "Good," she purrs. "We're just getting started." She pulls away, but before I can see what she's doing, Murayama pushes herself up further on me and captures my lips with her own, and I get lost in kissing her. Her breath is warm and heavy as we make out frantically, and she guides my hand to her pussy, which is soaked in arousal.</p>
<p>Getting the hint, I start running my fingers up and down her entrance, lightly brushing up against her clit with every pass. She moans into my mouth and kisses me deeper.</p>
<p>I flinch as I suddenly feel something cool on my dick before feeling a hand pumping up and down on it. The movement is slick and is obviously covering my dick in lube. Which means Katase is up first.</p>
<p>Sure enough, a moment later I feel her weight straddle me. A moment later I feel it as she lowers herself onto my dick. The tightness of her anus is incredible, and I gasp at the sensation. It wasn't anything like even the tightest pussy I had entered. The way it gripped me was completely different.</p>
<p>Katase moans loudly as she lowers herself, [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] causing it to feel even better. She goes inch by inch but manages to get the entirety of my cock inside her ass. Once it's in, she takes a minute to grow accustomed to it, and I can feel her insides writhing around my length.</p>
<p>Murayama takes my attention back to her by pushing herself harder against my hand and moaning needily. I oblige her and stick a finger inside her, fingering her. Even as I do so, I feel Katase start to move, making small up and down motions as she bounces on top of me.</p>
<p>I slip another finger into Murayama and finger her properly as we make out. Both her and Katase are moaning now, though Murayama's moans are muffled by my own lips. I feel Murayama clench tight around my fingers as she cums. She breaks our kiss as she does so, breathing shakily.</p>
<p>I finally can see Katase on my dick, her boobs bouncing as she moves. Her pussy is clearly displayed, cleanly shaven and dripping with arousal.</p>
<p>I feel the pressure rise up in me and I don't fight it. I cum, filling Katase's ass with my semen. At the sensation of my hot jizz filling her, she moans louder than before, and clear liquid squirts from her pussy as she orgasms.</p>
<p>She takes another moment to recover before she lifts herself off my dick, nearly as slowly as she lowered herself onto it. She lays back on the bed, her head just barely hanging off the edge, and spreads her legs invitingly.</p>
<p>Murayama reacts before me and dives for her soaked crotch, licking at it intensely. Katase moans as Murayama eats her out, but my eyes are on Murayama's pussy, which is stuck up in the air as she goes down on the other girl.</p>
<p>Getting on my knees, I line myself up before I slowly push my length into her. Murayama moans as I do, temporarily halting her efforts. However, Katase soon pushes her head back down.</p>
<p>We continue like that for a few minutes, me thrusting into Murayama from behind as she eats out Katase.</p>
<p>"She's close," Katase says, out of breath from the constant pleasure. "If you cum inside her, she'll cum <em>hard</em>." She grins devilishly. "So do it. <em>Cum.</em>"</p>
<p>Like she spoke the magic word, her words bring forth a sudden orgasm from me and I paint Murayama's insides white with my seed. Sure enough, Murayama shouts in pleasure as her back arches and she climaxes as well.</p>
<p>I pull out as Murayama collapses on top of Katase. Katase looks down at the other girl with a caring smile on her face as she strokes Murayama's head, comforting her. "You didn't disappoint with the stamina, usually three times is too much for a guy and one of us goes disappointed."</p>
<p>"And I'm not done yet," I say. Her eyes widen as she looks down and sees that I'm as hard as ever. Murayama also turns her head to look, a smile on her face. Katase spreads her legs, revealing herself underneath Murayama.</p>
<p>"In that case, come on," Katase invites in an expectant tone.</p>
<p>"We're waiting," Murayama teases with a sultry voice.</p>
<p>I grin and line myself up with Katase's ass. These girls are so much fun.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It's pretty late by the time I get home, but as someone who doesn't need to eat or sleep, I don't mind. I walk into my apartment to see Kyu watching TV with Yua curled up on her lap. I decide to relax for a few moments and sit down next to her, propping up my feet on the coffee table.</p>
<p>I pull out my phone and notice that I have two unread messages. I open them up to see a text from Rias and I save her number. The other one is from Akeno, and also has a picture attached. Excited, I open it immediately. In the photo is the reflection of Akeno in the mirror. Her phone is held right below her face. She's completely nude, but an outstretched finger held horizontally covers her reflection's crotch, and the reflection of that same finger covers her reflection's nipples.</p>
<p>But everything else outside of her nipples and the very bottom of her crotch is clearly visible. Enough so that I can tell that she's cleanly shaven down there. And considering she's only covering her nipples, that still leaves a lot of her boobs fully on display.</p>
<p>"Oh damn. That's hot," Kyu says. I look over to see her looking at my phone. "Is she the next girl you're going after?"</p>
<p>"Not the very next one, no," I answer. "But soon. Actually, right now, it's more like she's going after me. She and Rias are trying to seduce me into becoming a Devil."</p>
<p>"That's a classic Devil move," Kyu says, nodding. "Is it working?"</p>
<p>"A lot more than I expected," I admit. "But I'm pretty stubborn. Mostly I'm just enjoying their attempts. This," I hold up my phone to indicate the picture, "is just the start of things. She was on my lap earlier, after Rias flashed me. Would have left me pretty blue balled if I hadn't run into Murayama and Katase right afterward."</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, I noticed you made some progress on my quest earlier," Kyu said. "I should've guessed it was those two. I spied on them a bit today at school, and during lunch they snuck off to go make out in the girl's bathroom. Things got pretty fucking steamy, it was super hot. Those two were such an easy target I'm tempted to not let them count or to only count as one. But screw it, I'll let it slide. It's not like you're going to stop adding girls to your harem once you finish the quest. And after seeing you bang all these girls I'm so pent up that if I don't get laid soon I'm gonna go crazy."</p>
<p>"I'm pretty close now, it shouldn't be too much longer," I reassure her. "Though if you want to maybe fool around a bit before I complete the quest…" I trail off suggestively.</p>
<p>"Nuh-uh buster," she shoots me down. "What happened Sunday morning was borderline. But I set a goal for you and you'll complete it before we do anything more than that."</p>
<p>I raise my hands in surrender. "Alright alright. Message received. I'm not the one who's backed up here."</p>
<p>"Ugh. Trust me, I'm very aware of that," she complains. "Don't you have a gross dungeon to go fighting in or something?"</p>
<p>"In a bit," I say as I turn my attention back to my phone and text Akeno back to let her know how much I appreciated the selfie. "I just wanna relax for a moment first."</p>
<p>"Fair enough," she says. We fall into a comfortable silence after that. I play some more chess on my phone, though I'm only barely paying attention to it.</p>
<p>After a few games where I win despite my lack of attention, I sigh and put my phone away before equipping my dungeon gear.</p>
<p>"I'll be back in the morning," I tell Kyu as I lift up Yua from her lap, waking Yua up. "Come on Yua, we're going to do some more training. I want you playing support this time though.</p>
<p>"You know, just because you don't have to sleep doesn't mean you shouldn't," Kyu comments. "Sleep is nice. I'd even be willing to share a bed."</p>
<p>I hesitate. It was a tempting offer. But I shake my head. "I really want to finish this hard mode dungeon. But I'll think about it."</p>
<p>"Suit yourself," she says with a shrug before turning her attention back to the TV.</p>
<p>...maybe I'll rush a little bit through the dungeon, see if I can't get back in time for a couple hours of sleep.</p>
<p>With that thought, I use [Dungeon Traversal] to enter the hard mode zombie dungeon.</p>
<hr/>
<p>These Dungeons are strange. I know they're something just made by the Game, but nothing reminds me of that fact as much as [Void Sense] does. [Void Sense] gives me a perfect understanding of the shape of everything within its range, like a 3D map that I'm constantly aware of. And so I can tell that just outside of the outer walls of the dungeon is precisely nothing, just pure Void. The same is true for above and below as well.</p>
<p>It also brought my attention to the walls, which are strange. While [Void Sense] doesn't give me much knowledge about the physical makeup of an object, I could tell that the walls on the surface were very different from the walls a couple inches in. Some testing with my own abilities revealed that the outermost layer of the walls was essentially nothing but a fancy decor. Beneath it was a solid slab of unbreakable material with no seams or lines. And more than that, the decoration grows back after being chipped away, though it does so slowly.</p>
<p>I hadn't planned on attempting to shortcut the Dungeon before, but now that I know that it's impossible I'm slightly annoyed. Between some of my new abilities and confirming the layout of the dungeon, I could have easily created a path to the boss. The dungeon is essentially a series of rooms in concentric squares, with access to the next layer being on the opposite side of the entrance to the current layer. Blasting through the walls would get me to the center, which has to be the boss room, in just two or three rooms.</p>
<p>I put those thoughts out of my mind and move to the door to the next room. Yua follows me silently just a bit behind me using [Sneak]. Her [Sneak] skill and my [Mentor] skill were now at level 30. But at level 25, I noticed that the description for [Mentor] updated, and I could now teach party members two of my skills.</p>
<p>It had been difficult to choose which skill to give her next. I have a lot of skills that focus on stealth, maneuverability, and information gathering. In the end, I chose to go with [Spider Climb]. Yua's health was too low and she lacked weapons, so she had quickly become a backline supporter using the various spell wands I had picked up. She could already climb fairly well, but her ability to do so was very dependent on the terrain. [Spider Climb] made that not a worry, and made it so she would always have an angle to cast her spells with.</p>
<p>I press up against the door to the next room and feel it out with [Void Sense]. There are ten skeletons and two ghouls, all of them facing the door, waiting for me. The two ghouls were on either side of the door, while the four skeletons with swords were just a couple feet in front of the door, and the six skeletons with staves and bows were further back, aiming at the door.</p>
<p>"Two ghouls," I tell Yua. "Same arrangement as last time though. Same plan as before, got it?"</p>
<p>"<em>Ready!</em>" she says. With a nod, I countdown with my fingers, and then I slam the door open and rush straight for the skeletons.</p>
<p>I see a wall of ice go up behind the skeleton warriors, cutting us off from the ranged skeletons and leaving me to deal with just the melee undead, thanks to Yua's new wand.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Wand of Ice Wall<br/>Creates a wall of ice at a location within line of sight. Costs 25MP per cubic foot of ice.</strong>
</p>
<p>That wasn't the only new useful trick I picked up in the dungeon. My Void Mage class has passed level 50, and I got a powerful new skill.</p>
<p><strong>[Void Call] - Level 12(29%)<br/></strong> <strong>Impose the Void onto reality in spherical space within line of sight. Those caught within take massive damage. Costs 10k MP for a 1 Meter diameter sphere. Cost increases exponentially as size increases. Casting speed and maximum size increase with level.</strong></p>
<p>It drains most of my MP, but that's not a bad price. I cast it and the upper halves of two of the skeletons are enveloped in a flash of darkness, which disappears to show nothing of what was caught inside remaining. Their lower halves crumple to the ground, no longer animated, leaving me with just two warrior skeletons left, and the two ghouls behind me.</p>
<p>Yua has climbed up the wall and is waiting for her MP to recharge, and I purposefully keep unstealthed to make sure the enemies keep their attention on me. I'm low on MP so I approach the skeletons with my two new daggers, their edges coated in Void energy.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Blackened Bone Dagger<br/>A dagger made of carbonized bone, created by a necromancer. Deals 3x DEX damage, 3x Critical Hit Modifier, and healing damage dealt by the blade is 50% effective</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Double Strike Dagger<br/>A wicked-looking dagger. Deals 2.5x DEX damage, 3x Critical Hit Modifier, and has a 50% chance of dealing double damage.</strong>
</p>
<p>Both daggers swung outwards as I dashed between the two remaining skeletons, gouging deep into them. However, one hit wasn't enough to kill them, not without a critical hit spot, and these skeletons had none. Before they can react, I spin around and cross both knives across the spine of one of the warriors.</p>
<p>Not even waiting as it collapses, I sheath my bone dagger and use [Void Devour] to grapple the other skeleton warrior and suck it dry of mana. As my MP bar fills back up I watch as the two ghouls approach me. The instant before they reach me I use my wrist blade to finish off the skeleton I have grappled and unleash a [Void Beam] at the closer of the two ghouls.</p>
<p>It's too close for me to have time to finish it off completely, but by the time it's in range to attack me, a simple stab in the gut with my Double Strike Dagger is enough to finish it off. Unfortunately, this leaves me open for the second ghoul.</p>
<p>With a wet snarl, it lashes out at me. I raise an arm to block it. Don't Touch Me, the long gauntlets I now wore, blocked most of the damage, and activated its special feature. For just a brief moment I turn completely invisible.</p>
<p>I quickly activate all of my stealth skills and immediately create a [Doppelganger] behind me. The ghoul lunges at it immediately, and it does as I instructed it do, which is dodge as best it can. It won't last long, but I don't need it to.</p>
<p>While the ghoul is focused on my double, I step around it, positioning myself behind it's defenseless back. Almost casually, I slip a [Void Edge] covered blade into its back. I had done the math recently, and between my Hornet Ring, [Backstab], and [Void Edge] I did an absolutely <em>ridiculous</em> amount of damage with my sneak attacks. Not enough to take on someone like Serafall, but I could pose a threat to just about anyone below her in strength, under the right circumstances.</p>
<p>The ghoul spasms violently before dying. My doppelganger stops dodging, gives me a lazy two-finger salute, and then pops like a bubble into nothingness.</p>
<p>[Void Sense] tells me that the skeleton mages and archers have finally made it around the ice wall taking up the majority of the center of the room, two on each side. I create another [Doppelganger] and send it rushing towards the ones on the right as I rush the ones on the left. It won't be able to do significant damage, but it will prevent me from having to dodge their attacks while I deal with the other two.</p>
<p>Or not, as I feel the double burst immediately, too slow to dodge a spell. Nevermind, it bought me enough time for me to close the distance to the ones on the left. I focus my slashes on the archer, cutting it down immediately, and then I grapple with the mage. [Void Drain] drains it of mana as I use it as a shield to advance on the other two skeletons.</p>
<p>Uncaring of my 'hostage', the other two skeletons open fire on me, killing the half drained skeleton mage and doing slight damage to me. I'd be annoyed, but I see that my MP is over 10k again. As my gauntlets turn me invisible, I cast [Void Call] on the skeleton mage. Unfortunately, they are too spread out to get them both, but I'm left with just the skeleton archer now.</p>
<p>As I blink back into the visible spectrum, I take my Shiny Coin out of my inventory and rush the skeleton. It throws an arrow at me that I barely dodge out of the way of. When I'm close, I flick the Shiny Coin high into the air, and the enchantment on it draws even the skeleton's attention.</p>
<p>As it's forced to look up, I quickly activate my stealth skills, slip behind it, and attack it. Exactly as I hoped, I see the notification that the attack counts as a sneak attack, and the skeleton falls to the ground in two pieces, no longer animated.</p>
<p>I relax and call out to Yua. "Come on Yua, the next room is a safe room, we can rest in there."</p>
<p>"<em>Okay!</em>" she calls out as she scampers across the ceiling, hanging to it upside down, before dropping down onto my shoulder from above. "<em>Did Yua do a good job?</em>"</p>
<p>"Yeah, you did great," I assure her while I pet her. I walk towards the door and open it to enter the safe room I had gotten to last time, though this time I had come down the other way. Which meant that I had finally cleared the outer ring of rooms. If the rooms stayed the same size, I had two more rings to clear before reaching the boss room.</p>
<p>I use [Dungeon Traversal] to head back home and check my loot. I appear in my living room, which is now dark. No sign of Kyu, which means she's already asleep. I shrug and unequip all my gear before looking over my loot.</p>
<p>First, the fruits of my level-ups. There was the [Void Call] skill I got for reaching level 50 with Void Mage, but I also got two new perks.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 250 CON<br/>Quick Recovery - Halves the duration of all damage over time and status effects</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 INT<br/>Skill Combiner - Allows you to combine similar skills to create a new skill</strong>
</p>
<p>The CON perk is nice, but it's the INT perk I'm looking forward to playing with. I pull up my list of skills and see what I can combine.</p>
<p>I start out with the obvious one. [Sneak], [Chameleon], and [Ghost]. The latter two were just upgrades to the first one anyway. I feel the perk go off and a new window appears.</p>
<p><strong>Skills [Sneak], [Chameleon], and [Ghost] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/></strong> <strong>[Fade] - Level 86(49%)<br/></strong> <strong>Reduces all signs of presence by 86%. Costs 100SP/s</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>[Sneak] taught to Yua has been changed to [Fade]</strong>
</p>
<p>I got even more than I hoped for out of that. I was expecting the skill to start at level 1, but instead, it seems like some of my progress has been saved. I frown at the number though. That's not the average level, nor would it be the average XP. How did it calculate it then?</p>
<p>I shrug. Either way, I'm grateful that I don't have to start over with it. And for the fact that the skill I had taught to Yua with [Mentor] automatically changed as well.</p>
<p>I look through my skill list for more skills to combine. I try a couple random ones that I never leveled up but it seems I can't just combine any two skills. However, I do find a few more combinations that work.</p>
<p><strong>Skills [Gardening] and [Overgrow] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/></strong> <strong>[Green Thumb] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Gain a knack for growing plants. Plants can be fed MP to make it grow faster and healthier.</strong></p>
<p>Useful. Or it will be when I finally get around to growing my own alchemy ingredients. I bought some windowsill pots before but have yet to plant anything in them.</p>
<p><strong>Skills [Void Sense] and [Detect] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Detect] - Level 58(71%)<br/></strong> <strong>The Void is the opposite of everything. Sense the void around you, and where it is absent and the people within that range. Grants a complete awareness of your surroundings and identifies beings in a radius of 72.5 meters. Costs 290 MP/s</strong></p>
<p>It was only a minor upgrade to [Void Sense], but it did increase the level of the skill by a lot. I try it out now and notice that each person in my range feels distinctly different. I don't know their names, but I can tell that they're all human with a small amount of magic and I'm sure I could pick each one out of a crowd in the future. So it was a major upgrade to [Detect].</p>
<p><strong>Skills [Eavesdrop] and [Audiokineses] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/></strong> <strong>[Sound Domain] - Level 42(71%)<br/></strong> <strong>Hear everything within a 42-meter radius. Within that range, you can increase or decrease the volume of sounds and create new sounds. Uses SP, cost varies by action</strong></p>
<p>This one I'm less sure about. On one hand, it's a massive improvement to [Eavesdrop], but on the other hand, I feel like I lost out on some utility of [Audiokineses]. Testing it out, I can't alter the frequency or any of the other aspects of sound other than the volume. Still, being able to create sound easily within that range was useful, I could definitely play some mind games with that.</p>
<p>None of the other skills I have combine. I expected to be able to something with [Sound Domain] and [Void Detect] but it doesn't work. Oh well, time to check out the loot I got.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Pedometer Staff<br/>A walking stick that measures how far you've walked while holding it.</strong>
</p>
<p>Relatively useless, but neat. I pull it out. It's a simple oak staff about five feet tall. A couple inches from the top of it there's a "0.0 meters" etched into the wood. I stand up and walk around the couch and it updates in real-time. I shrug and stash it back into my inventory, curiosity satisfied.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peephole<br/>A circular mirror roughly the size of a quarter. When placed against a wall or surface less than 1 foot thick it displays the view from the other side of the surface. There is no indication of it on the other side. Can be blocked by most types of wards that prevent seeing into the room.</strong>
</p>
<p>Now, this was useful. [Void Detect] let me get a pretty good idea of what's on the other side of a wall already, but some things just can't beat being seen. I quietly walk to my bedroom door and put the peephole up against it.</p>
<p>The mirror changes as soon as it's attached, and no longer does it reflect me but instead looks like I drilled a hole through my door and stuck a camera on the other side of it. I have a good angle on my bed, and sure enough, I see Kyu lying there asleep, naked save for a pair of panties and a blanket that is barely covering her stomach.</p>
<p>I grin before I put it away. I'm sure there will be plenty of peeping opportunities now that I have this. I go back to the living room to finish going over my loot.</p>
<p>The next item is a Small Heart Crystal, which only gives me 5 Affection. I look over my list and I'm about to use it on one of Sona's peerage members who still are only at 16 Affection before I stop. The early Affection points are really easy to get, and these heart crystals only work up to 50 Affection, so wouldn't using it on someone who is either difficult to gain Affection with or is nearly at 50 be better?</p>
<p>With that in mind, I use it on Serafall, putting her at 34 Affection. I have a lot of people at higher Affection but still below 50, but at this point in time, Serafall is the most difficult person to get more Affection for, and I need her to like me before I can make any serious moves on Sona. I can only use one heart crystal on a person a day, but I'm not going back into the dungeon today so I won't get any more, so it's not a waste. This also puts her in the perfect position for me to use a Large Heart Crystal to get her to 49 Affection, and I can use another one to get her a good way above 50.</p>
<p>The last loot I got in the dungeon was three more Gacha tokens, which I don't hesitate to spend.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Master Key<br/>A rusted key that can unlock anything that is locked by a physical key.</strong>
</p>
<p>I already barely used my [Lockpicking] skill and it seems like that usage is going to go down even more. Still, this was useful. I could always give it to a companion too.</p>
<p><strong>Skill Gem<br/>[Far Reach] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Send a tendril out of your hand that can pull you towards a location or pull objects and people to you. Maximum range and pull speed increase with level.</strong></p>
<p>Magical grapple hook? Yes, please. If this is the skill I think it is too, then it'll be very helpful. I test it out and target the TV remote on the table. An inky black tendril forms and shoots out at the remote. It wraps around the remote and then reels in, putting the remote right into my hand. Very useful indeed.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Grimoire of Dark Magic<br/>Can be used by a non-Gamer to learn the skills of the Dark Mage class. Skills are not Game enforced but can achieve the same effect. Users must spend time reading and practicing to learn the skills.</strong>
</p>
<p>Huh. I pull out the book and open it up to see what it looks like. Sure enough, it reads like a textbook on magic. The first section is just dedicated to explaining Dark Magic and how to unlock your ability to use it. Dark Magic is apparently powered by the soul power, either that of the caster or siphoned from defeated foes, and the caster's emotions.</p>
<p>I flick through the rest of the book. The spells seem to consist mostly of damage dealing spells, though there are a few that hinder enemies and even a couple that can help allies. I don't bother trying to learn it though. The description explicitly says that I can't do so, and I can always pick up the class later if I want these spells.</p>
<p>I stash it in my inventory. I'm sure that it'll come in handy later. Empowering someone mundane is always useful, especially with how limited [Mentor] is.</p>
<p>Loot finished, I look at the time. I still have several hours before I have to leave for school. And I could spend that time in the dungeon, exploring the town, or grinding [Alchemy], Kyu's invitation, and the sight of her sleeping form are at the forefront of my mind.</p>
<p>Mind made up, I stash all my clothes save for my underwear into my inventory, and make my way into the bedroom. Kyu stays asleep as I enter the bedroom and slip into the bed next to her, spooning her. The warmth of another body in the bed and the sound of her breathing is enough to send me to sleep almost immediately.</p>
<hr/>
<p>I wake up to a pleasant feeling coming from my dick. Still not fully awake, I reflexively twitch a little, and I feel that my dick is surrounded by a soft and warm feeling. Coming more into my senses I also feel that my hand is cupping a small but soft boob, and I can hear Kyu breathing heavily.</p>
<p>Thinking quickly, I cover the signs of me waking up and see where this goes. At first, nothing happens, but after a few moments, I feel Kyu move. She's grinding herself on my dick, which is free from my underwear and stuck between her legs. My erection is causing it to push up against her crotch. She's still wearing her panties, but they're damp.</p>
<p>She moans breathily as she rubs herself on my dick. I risk opening my eyes slightly to see that one of her hands is working away at her crotch. The other one I feel settle over mine to push my hand harder into her boob.</p>
<p>Her movement speeds up and I hear a muffled moan as she bites her lip to keep from being too loud. I feel the wetness of her arousal completely coating the top part of my dick as she slides her crotch along it. She then suddenly stops and shudders, her legs twitching around me.</p>
<p>I'm close to cumming myself, but not quite there. So when she relaxes and starts to move my hand off of her chest, I stop pretending to be asleep and push my hand back to her breast. I pinch her nipple as I start thrusting into her thighs. She yelps in surprise and turns her head to look at me in shock, with just a hint of guilt on her face.</p>
<p>"You know," I start conversationally, "It's rude to use other people's dicks to masturbate. You may as well make sure you return the favor."</p>
<p>"How long have you been awake?" She asks, her face flushed and her breathing still heavy. She doesn't push me away though.</p>
<p>"Oh not long," I answer as I continue to pump my hips. "Surely you didn't think I could sleep through something like that though?"</p>
<p>"You're a pretty heavy sleeper," she replies, trying hard to look like she's unaffected. But I can feel the way her chest is heaving and the way she keeps biting her lip. "You also get pretty handsy in your sleep."</p>
<p>"You learn something new everyday I guess," I say. Taking her lack of telling me to stop as tacit approval, I kiss the back of her neck as I thrust harder. She moans slightly, and the sound of it is the most arousing thing I've ever heard. I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and her moans instantly increase in volume.</p>
<p>"Hey!" she protests. "Who said you can do that?"</p>
<p>"Is it so wrong of me to want you to feel good as well?" I ask. When she doesn't immediately respond I continue. "You know, this is nearly having sex with you. I just have to stash one little piece of cloth into my inventory and change the angle just slightly, and I'd be inside of you."</p>
<p>She shivers at my words but shakes her head. "You can't, not yet. You're lucky you're getting this much."</p>
<p>"Lucky? Or are you just very horny?" I ask. She blushes but doesn't answer. I thrust harder, changing my angle so I dig more into her crotch. "You know, I'm not sure you could stop me in time if I decided I didn't want to wait."</p>
<p>She laughs, but her voice is shaky. "You wish punk. I'll shrink down as soon as you even try, and good luck trying to penetrate me when I'm smaller than your dick."</p>
<p>"Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that," I say. I lean in and whisper in her ear. "After all, wasn't it you who told me? Girls <em>stretch</em>."</p>
<p>Her whole body shakes and she moans, unable to hold her voice in as she cums again. Her thighs clamp around me tighter and I finally cum, shooting thick strands of cum straight into her pantie covered crotch and her thighs</p>
<p>As she gets her bearings after her second orgasm she makes a noise of complaint. "At least when I cum I don't leave a mess." She gets up, floating and pulling herself out of my arms. She heads for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower and clean up. Do <em>not</em> join me."</p>
<p>"I understand," I say. "I'm just too tempting. I'll wait for my turn."</p>
<p>She half-heartedly flips me off as she closes the bathroom door behind her and I grin. She might have hidden it from my view when I used [Lewd Scouter] on her the other day, but I know she has a size fetish and very much wants to get fucked when she's doll-sized. I'll have to get that [Imbue Stretchiness] skill before that happens though, most likely. Girls didn't stretch <em>that</em> much, even lewd Love Fairies.</p>
<p>Satisfied at such a good start to my morning, I get up and start getting ready for school. I have a good feeling about today.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Later that day I'm sitting in the Student Council Room. For once, I'm not sitting at the center area facing Sona. Instead, I'm enjoying lunch with Ruruko and Momo over in a corner of the room. The other Student Council members are at their own desks eating as well, though some of them have paperwork in front of them even as they eat.</p>
<p>Like yesterday, I'm eating lunch made by Ruruko. Instead of sandwiches this time though, it's a nice curry over rice, with just enough spice to make my tongue tingle without being overbearing. I didn't get any more Affection when I complimented her on it though. I guess her being over 50 Affection means casual compliments of her food no longer are enough to increase her Affection. Ah well.</p>
<p>"So Ruruko," I say. "Momo told me how she joined Sona's peerage. How about you?"</p>
<p>"Through my amazing investigative skills!" she proclaims.</p>
<p>Momo raises an eyebrow at her. "Oh? Is that how it went?"</p>
<p>Ruruko deflates a little bit. "Ah. I mean. Kinda?" Momo continues to stare at her and Ruruko sighs in defeat. "Okay okay, I got lucky. I came around to the Student Council room to ask about joining and there wasn't anyone here but the door was unlocked. So I came in and sat down to wait. I nearly had a heart attack when instead of coming in the door they teleport in with a flash of light."</p>
<p>"Understandable," I say. "Though that situation doesn't really sound like something Sona would allow. Surely there were precautions to prevent exactly that from happening?"</p>
<p>Ruruko and Momo both nod. "Oh, there were," Ruruko said. "Two of them actually. The door was actually meant to be locked, but the lock wasn't working right and no one had noticed yet. And there's also a ward that tells Sona whenever someone enters the room, but it's not active during school hours because of how much traffic there is in this room. Normally we don't teleport in and out of here during school hours, but she had something going on that day where she had to leave on short notice." She tilts her head. "I don't remember what."</p>
<p>"Family business with her father," Momo provides. "They needed to sort out some things and the paperwork was due by the end of the business day. Tsubaki and I both helped."</p>
<p>"Right, that. Boring business stuff," Ruruko dismisses.</p>
<p>"So you're sitting here, and all of a sudden they teleport in," I summarize. "How does that lead to you joining her peerage?"</p>
<p>"Well instead of immediately erasing my memory or something she asks me why I'm there. I'm kinda freaking out at that point but also not, it was weird. My thoughts are a mess but I'm acting pretty calmly. So I end up just telling her the truth, that I wanted to join the Student Council and I was waiting for her. She thought about that for a little bit and then started telling me all about Devils and why she was here and what she was doing and how the Student Council were all people she had turned into Devils. Then she asked if I still wanted to join. And I didn't see any downside to becoming a Devil, so I said sure, and that afternoon I reincarnated as Sona's Pawn."</p>
<p>"Just like that? No hesitation?" I ask.</p>
<p>"I wasn't gonna miss the chance," she says. "I get to live longer, get magic powers, and can become super strong? I'll sign that deal in a heartbeat. Having to serve Sona is a small price to pay for that."</p>
<p>Momo sighs. "You still didn't need to rush into it. Sona offered to let you take some time to think about it."</p>
<p>Ruruko shakes her head. "Nah, didn't need it. My Mom always taught me to act fast and not let chances slip by." She looks at me and winks. "Chances like you actually."</p>
<p>"Speaking of," I say. "When are you free next? If we're going to be doing this, I should take you on a date."</p>
<p>Her eyes light up. "I'm free tonight! In the evening at least. After school we have training, but we usually wrap up with that around six or seven, so we can do something after that."</p>
<p>"A little last minute, but I'm also free and don't see a reason to wait, so sure. Do you want to meet somewhere beforehand?"</p>
<p>"Actually," Momo interjects. "Sona wanted me to invite you to our training afterschool today. We do some workouts, sparring, and magic practice a few times a week to get ready for Rating Games. As a regular activity, Sona thought you would benefit from seeing what sort of training we do. Also, I think she wants to see how strong you actually are. So if you join us for that, you and Ruruko can go straight from there to your date."</p>
<p>"Ooh yes, you should totally join us for that!" Ruruko says. "I wanna spar with you, the normal human who took down a squad of Fallen Angels by himself!"</p>
<p>"I don't think I really qualify as 'normal'," I respond. "But sure, that sounds like fun. Just come here straight after class?"</p>
<p>She nods. "We'll travel to the training grounds as a group." She smiles at me. "I'm glad you want to come. We've all been pretty curious about what exactly it is you can do."</p>
<p>"The feeling is mutual. I didn't even know Devils existed last week, so I'm interested in seeing how Devils fight." An electronic chime echoes through the room, signaling the end of lunch. I place the cover back on top of the bento box that Ruruko had prepared for me and give it back to her. "Thank you once again for the food, it was very good."</p>
<p>"Sure thing, Axton. I'll cook for you anytime," Ruruko says excitedly. "As long as you're okay with sandwiches, curry, or instant ramen anyways."</p>
<p>I laugh. "Sounds like you've got all the important kinds of food covered then." I stand up alongside Momo and Ruruko. "I guess I'll see you girls after classes then."</p>
<p>Momo draws close to me and leans to plant a kiss goodbye on my lips. I kiss her back and smile. Ruruko, either feeling challenged or perhaps just fired up, immediately copies her, though she kisses me on my cheek instead.</p>
<p>I give her an encouraging smile to let her know I appreciate it. Then I say my goodbyes to the rest of the Student Council and leave for class, my thoughts already on the rest of the day.</p>
<p>I had an idea earlier for something to get a reaction out of Ms. Nakano, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I grin. Aika's going to have a lot of fun with it too, I'm sure.</p>
<hr/>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>..</p>
<p>..</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>The being known to some as The Man in the Wall observed the Tenno as they scrambled across their solar system, fighting for their own causes. He felt their every movement as they drew on the Void to connect their minds to the Warframes and channeled their abilities. Through them, he felt nearly every corner of the universe.</p>
<p>The Man in the Wall and the Void were essentially the same being, though they were also separate. It was a relationship that could not be put into words, or it hadn't at least. The Man in the Wall could probably explain it in a way that the Orokin could have understood, but he saw no point in doing so.</p>
<p>The Orokin had been boring and rude, intruding on him, on his domain, greed in their eyes. That greed was their own undoing, time and time again, as their own creations and their own mistakes grew to topple their civilization out from under them.</p>
<p>Still, the Orokin had stumbled into creating the Tenno, and if The Man in the Wall was capable of such a thing, he would almost be thankful of them for that.</p>
<p>He had been wary of the Tenno at first, afraid that their use of the Void would weaken him, leave them thinner as these children expended the Void across their solar system. But that didn't happen. Instead, he grew stronger. The Void felt more full for lack of a better word, more potent.</p>
<p>And more than that, it gave him something akin to family. The Tenno were bastard children of the Void, touched by it rather than born of it. But he still felt connected to them in a way that he had never felt before. After so many eons of things being the same, the Tenno were a new and exciting experience.</p>
<p>And it seemed as if they were not the only new thing he was to experience. As he observed the Tenno, he noticed a new pull, a different one. It was almost hidden, which struck him as strange. The very idea that anything related to the Void could be beyond his notice was baffling and something he had never considered before.</p>
<p>He followed the feeling and found something even he struggled to understand. It was a hole of some kind. Not one that led to the layer of reality where the Tenno resided. No, this led <em>deeper</em>. Which was intriguing, because deeper wasn't really a concept that could be applied. There was nothing below the Void because the Void was between Everything. And yet, the hole undoubtedly led deeper.</p>
<p>Curious, he followed where it led. He had no fear. Even should it lead to a place hazardous to himself, he would simply reform in the Void. Luckily, this was not the case, and after following some Void stuff leaking through the hole, he found himself somewhere strange. It felt like the Void, but not. His connection to it was weak and incomplete.</p>
<p>It felt like a Void he had no connection to, tainted by the Void he did have a connection to. It was truly strange. He pondered, wondering if there were others like him, and somehow they had been connected.</p>
<p>He felt a draw on this Void, not unlike what happened when the Tenno channeled their abilities, but more potent. Interested, he followed the pull and observed where it led. To his surprise, he found a person there. A boy with black hair and golden eyes, and a soul that was tainted by the same Void he found himself in now.</p>
<p>For a time, he observes the boy. He was so similar to the Tenno, but also so different. Where the Tenno had been so thoroughly changed on a physical level, this boy had only had his soul affected by whatever it was that happened to him. The rest of him was untouched.</p>
<p>It had no ill effects on his strength the Man in the Wall observed. The boy drew deeply on the Void, and in more inventive ways than the Tenno. Their shape seemed limited though, just as the Tenno's were.</p>
<p>He was almost shocked to see a familiar beam of Void erupt from the boy's hands, so like the Tenno. He was even more surprised when the boy followed it up by replacing a section of space with the Void, an effect so strong it sent ripples through the Void he found himself in. The ripple was familiar as well, and he realized it was what allowed him to find the hole in his own Void.</p>
<p>The Man in the Wall did not currently have a physical form, but if he had, it would be grinning. It seemed as if he had found a very interesting new source of entertainment.</p>
<hr/><hr/>
<p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 155<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Void Mage(55/100)[88%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 5,580 (111.6 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 16,980 (339.6 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4,360 (87.2 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 279<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 193(218)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 398<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 566<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 452<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 195<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 297(307)</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>===Rogue Skills===</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Fade - Lv. 86 || Lockpicking - Lv. 39 || Sleight of Hand - Lv. 76 || Backstab - Lv. 77 || Pickpocket - Lv. 1 || Disguise - Lv. 31 || Sound Domain - Lv. 42 || Parkour - Lv. 54 || Trapping - Lv. 27 || Decode - Lv. 1 || Hacking - Lv. 1 || Track - Lv. 22 || Cold Reading - Lv. 38 || Spider Climb - Lv. 33 || Knockout - Lv. 1 || Poison Resistance - Lv. 58 || Unnatural Rhythm - Lv. 50 || Shadow Step - Lv. 32</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>===Void Mage Skills===</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Void Beam - Lv. 26 || Void Detect - Lv. 58 || Void Edge - Lv. 47 || Void Blood - Lv. 1 || Void Drain - Lv. 20 || Void Call - Lv. 20</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>===Crafting Skills===</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Alchemy - Lv. 67</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>===Lewd Skills===</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Increase Sensitivity - Lv. 21 || Touch of Pleasure - Lv. 40 || Erotic Pierrot - Lv. 31</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>===Misc. Skills===</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>Clean Blood - Lv. 1 || Green Thumb - Lv. 1 || Photosynthesis - Lv. 55 || Mentor - Lv. 34 || Massage - Lv. 38 || Bone Manipulation - Lv. 1 || Doppelganger - Lv. 21 || Far Reach - Lv. 6</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Last week at work was exactly the sort of week I was afraid of when changing shifts, and this week I flipped between being too busy or too tired to write, so this chapter got delayed because of that.</p>
<p>Not sure if the part about Devil's being minor shape-shifters is canon or not. I feel like I've heard that somewhere, but that could either be fanon or something from an entirely different setting. Either way, it's canon in this fic, because it just makes sense to me.</p>
<p>I didn't cover as much as I would've liked in this chapter, but the next good stopping point is too far after this point, and the word count would have gotten much too large and it would have delayed things too long for my tastes. So here's a slightly less content filled chapter released now, rather than a week or more from now.</p>
<p>Also, this chapter is the first time I've fudged a Gacha roll. I need the Grimoire for something that will likely happen in a few chapters. Up until now, they've all been legitimate rolls. Ah well, I don't mind doing it, especially since I'm not using it to just give him the best things on there. Because trust me, there's some good shit on there, and boy is it tempting to give it to Axton, but it's not needed, not yet, so it'll wait.</p>
<p>Also wow, I've officially passed 100k words. That's crazy to me considering it's barely been two months. This is by far the longest thing I've ever written, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm super glad you guys are liking it, and the reviews, comments, and discussions I have with you guys are what keep my motivation flowing for this fic. So thanks guys, without you this wouldn't exist.</p>
<p>Shoutout to Draven for designing the Double Strike Dagger and allowing me to use it, and to KillerQueen for helping me bounce ideas around, which really is a massive help.</p>
<p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord .gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. DxD: Recruitment Week 04</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes<br/>-Modified Kyu's quest rewards to account for Reputation no longer being a thing. Previous Reputation gains are now slightly lower Affection gains.<br/>-Genshirou Saji's family name is Saji, not Genshirou. Meaning when genderbending, 'Genshirou' is the name that should have changed, not 'Saji'. Her new name is Kagetsu Saji. When I get some time and I'm not feeling lazy this will be fixed in past chapters.<br/>-Added a cost to the [Far Reach] skill, 50MP per meter. This does not affect his maximum range, which is much shorter than his maximum MP would allow for.<br/>-Tweaked the Lewd Skill list slightly, the updated list appears in this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Aika bites her lip even as a small moan escapes her. Luckily for her, I use [Sound Domain] to silence it before it reaches the ears of our classmates.</p><p>It's the middle of Japanese class and I currently have two fingers up Aika's pussy. Our desks are pushed together under the pretense of me having forgotten the materials for this class. I've taken advantage of that to put my hand up her skirt, down her panties, and inside of her.</p><p>Aika was a bit surprised when I started but didn't protest. And watching her squirm and try to remain quiet was delightful. Especially the way she tightened every time she made a noise someone would've heard if it weren't for my efforts.</p><p>Somehow we've gone unnoticed so far. Well, except for Atsuko, who keeps glancing back at us, a pout on her face. I mouth an apology at her and try to imply I'll make it up to her later, and this seems to mollify her a little.</p><p>Believe it or not, I wasn't doing this just to fool around with Aika. Ms. Nakano hasn't looked in my direction at all today, clearly avoiding the sight of me and the arousal I would induce in her. But I have an idea on how to change that.</p><p>[Sound Domain] is a nifty little skill. While it lost some of the versatility of [Audiokinesis], it made it very easy to create new sounds, especially ones I've just heard.</p><p>While Ms. Nakano was facing the class discussing some aspect of the Japanese language I wasn't paying attention to, I mimic one of Aika's moans using [Sound Domain] just softly enough for her, and her alone, to barely hear coming from our direction.</p><p>She falters in what she's talking about briefly and I can see the confusion on her face. She finally looks over at me. Her eyes move to Aika before widening in shock and looking at me, and our eyes lock together. I smirk while I hit Ms. Nakano with [Erotic Pierrot] and dig harder into Aika, causing her to visibly react, though she manages to remain silent.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Mio Nakano</strong>
</p><p>Ms. Nakano blushes and quickly turns around to write something on the board, and my smirk only grows bigger. Finally some progress with her.</p><p>I increase the strength of [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] that I've been using lightly on Aika and quickly bring her to a climax that definitely would've drawn attention if it weren't for me dampening the sounds. I remove my hand from up her skirt and wink at her. She just smiles at me with a post-orgasm bliss, and Atsuko looks on in jealousy.</p><p>School is so much fun.</p><hr/><p>I walk into the Student Council room about ten minutes after classes get out. "Sorry I'm late," I say as I enter. "There was something I had to take care of really quick." Namely Atsuko and her arousal. With Aika's help, it was easy to get bring her to climax very quickly. Doing it just barely out of sight of the students heading home probably helped too.</p><p>"You're just in time actually," Sona says and I realize that there's a girl with curled blonde hair that I don't recognize in the room. "I think you're just the person to consult about this issue."</p><p>Uh oh, she sounds annoyed. "Anything I can do to help, sure," I say. "What's the issue?"</p><p>"Abe here was just telling me about something she saw on school grounds the other day and has been trying to chase it down to capture it. When she failed to do so, she decided to bring it to my attention."</p><p>"Is it something dangerous?" I ask. I glance at the girl I don't know. "And uhh. Is it something that we should handle or should we call professionals or something?"</p><p>Sona sighs. "Sorry, I forgot that you're still new. Let me introduce you to Abe Kiyome. She's human but comes from a family of beast tamers who specialize in the care and training of various kinds of magical creatures."</p><p>"Oh, so she's in the know, got it." I turn to her. "Nice to meet you, Abe. I'm Axton Smith, but please just call me Axton."</p><p>Instead of greeting me she just narrows her eyes at me. "You don't have any magic," she says. She turns to Sona. "Is this why you think he can help? Because he is the same as the cat I keep seeing?"</p><p>"Cat?" I ask. "With no magic?" Do animals even normally have mana? I guess they do, Yua had a little MP when I found her. "Oh," I say, realizing. "Has Yua been messing with you?"</p><p>"More like taunting me," Kiyome grumbles. "So she's your cat then?"</p><p>"My familiar technically, but yeah."</p><p>"And you've been bringing her to school with you," Sona says, disapproval clear in her voice.</p><p>I shrug. "She gets bored alone at home. And is it really so strange to keep my familiar nearby?"</p><p>"Not in and of itself," Sona accedes, "but if she's going around and being noticed and standing out, that <em>is</em> an issue."</p><p>"In fairness," Kiyome chimes in. "I doubt anyone else would notice. She moves fast and she's practically silent. I only noticed her because I'm used to animals that fast." She turns to me. "Speaking of, what kind of cat is she? I've never heard of a magical cat race that can move so fast without looking different from a normal cat. And I even saw her climbing on the ceiling today."</p><p>"Oh yeah, I taught her that trick last night," I say. "As for what kind of cat she is. Well, she's a completely normal house cat."</p><p>"I don't believe you," she immediately shoots back.</p><p>I sigh. "Let me prove it then." I reach out to Yua. "<em>Yua? I'm going to summon you here to me, okay?"</em></p><p>"<em>Got it Papa!</em>" she responds back immediately. She's not that far away, but I might as well save some time. I reach along our bond and sort of pull on it mentally. One moment she's somewhere else, and then the next she pops into existence on the couch next to Sona.</p><p>"So Yua," I ask her. "Have you been teasing Ms. Abe over there?"</p><p>Yua looks at Kiyome and swishes her tail. "<em>Oh her! Yua was surprised when that girl noticed Yua because no one else had. So Yua started playing with her.</em>" She tilts her head. "<em>Should Yua not have done that?</em>"</p><p>I scratch her behind her ears. "No Yua, you're fine. Though if someone notices you that isn't one of the people here and isn't one of Koneko's friends, you should tell me, okay?"</p><p>"<em>Okay, Papa. Yua will do that from now on.</em>"</p><p>"She can talk?" Kiyome asks.</p><p>"Only telepathically to me, through our familiar bond," I say. "She's smart, but I don't think human language is something her vocal cords can do."</p><p>"There's a simple spell for that," she says. "I can use it on her if you want."</p><p>I hesitate. Yua being able to talk would make her so happy. But Kiyome is still a stranger to me and I'm not sure I trust her putting spells on Yua. I look at Sona, the question of 'Can I trust her?' clear on my face. Sona nods reassuringly. I give Momo the same look, and she gives me an excited nod, also wanting to keep Yua happy.</p><p>I turn to Kiyome. "Please. She would really appreciate it." I speak to Yua. "Abe is going to cast a spell on you, okay? And it's not like one of mine, so you'll have to sit still until she's done, okay?"</p><p>"<em>Okay!</em>" There's excitement in her tone. I nod at Kiyome. She extends a finger out towards Yua and a small magic circle appears in front of her fingertip. That same magic circle appears beneath Yua but sized up enough to completely cover her. It then rises up through her, and Yua glows briefly. Both magic circles blink out of existence.</p><p>"There," Kiyome says, putting her hand down. "That should have done it."</p><p>"Yua?" I prompt.</p><p>"Papa?" She jumps to her feet. "Yua can talk! Like a human! Like Mama and Papa!"</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Yua</strong>
</p><p>"Mama and Papa?" Kiyome asks and Yua bounces around jabbering away.</p><p>"Momo and I found her abandoned in a park," I explain. "I ended up adopting her but she also views Momo as a mother." Yua bounces over to Momo and leaps into her arms, still chattering. "She was a completely normal kitten then, but after I made her my familiar she started getting a lot smarter and a lot faster."</p><p>
  <strong>+12 Affection with Kiyome Abe</strong>
</p><p>Only one modifier applies to her? Based on the drill-like appearance of her hair, most likely the Ojou-sama one. So she's not a pervert then. That's sad. But considering how closely she works with animals, also a little bit of a relief.</p><p>"Hmm," Kiyome thinks about that. "Could I possibly examine her?"</p><p>I narrow my eyes. "Examine her how?"</p><p>She raises her hands placatingly. "Just a normal health checkup. It's a simple spell, she won't feel a thing."</p><p>I hesitate and then nod. "Yua," I call out. "I need you to come back over here for a moment and sit still again."</p><p>"Hold on Mama," she says to Momo. "Coming!" She leaps out of Momo's arms and dashes to the table, where she sits down.</p><p>Kiyome once again does her magic and a similar magic circle appears. This one is slower though and goes up and down Yua multiple times.</p><p>When the magic circles disappear Kiyome frowns in contemplation. Yua looks at me, and I nod at her and she zooms off back to Momo.</p><p>"So?" I ask Kiyome.</p><p>"Besides the lack of magic and her being abnormally, but not dangerously, fit for her age, she's a completely normal 4-month old house cat."</p><p>I blink. "Four months? Are you sure?"</p><p>Kiyome tilts her head. "Somewhere between four and five months yes, based on her growth. Why?"</p><p>"Because when Momo and I found her roughly ten days ago, the vet put her at maybe 10 weeks old, max."</p><p>Kiyome shakes her head. "No, I'm sure she's older than that. So either that vet you visited is incompetent, or her being your familiar has sped up her growth somehow."</p><p>I frown. "I don't know that I like that. As a normal cat her lifespan isn't all that long anyway, I don't like that it's being sped up." I look at Kiyome. "Actually, this is something I've been looking into. Do you know of a way to maybe, I don't know, evolve her? Turn her into something that lives a comparable life to a human?"</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Kiyome Abe</strong>
</p><p>Kiyome thinks about it for a moment. "For a normal cat? I don't know of anything like that, no. Magical animals usually have longer lifespans naturally. And Yua is unique as far as I know."</p><p>I slump slightly. "Alright, I'll keep working on it then. I can probably figure something out."</p><p>She hesitates for a moment but then speaks. "You know who might know though? The Youkai. I remember some old stories about them turning normal animals into more of their kind or something like that."</p><p>"Youkai?" I ask, feigning ignorance.</p><p>"A group of supernatural beings," she explains. "They are a bunch of different kinds but they band together. They all have human-level or greater intelligence, and many of them are part human and part animal or at least have traits of both to some degree."</p><p>"I see," I say. "And they might know of something that might help?"</p><p>Kiyome shrugs. "If anyone does, it'll be Yasaka. She's the leader of the Youkai in Kyoto."</p><p>"I guess I'll go see them then when I have the time. Maybe this weekend."</p><p>She frowns. "They probably won't just meet with you like that, especially not Yasaka. They're distrustful of humans in general." She hesitates. "Tell you what, I'll write you a letter of introduction. My family is on good terms with them, and that should be enough to get you an audience with Yasaka."</p><p>"You'd do that?" I ask. "I would certainly appreciate it."</p><p>"Sure. In exchange for one little favor," she replies with a grin.</p><p>Ah. That sounds about right. "What's the favor?"</p><p>"You made Yua into your familiar, right? And that's what caused her to grow so much?"</p><p>"More or less, yeah," I say.</p><p>"Could you do it again? Get another familiar?"</p><p>I think about it. Unfortunately, I don't know if there's a limit to how many familiars I can get, and Kyu isn't here to tell me. Plus, I need another Familiar Stone. "Maybe," I answer. I come up with a suitable sounding reason. "You've noticed the no magic thing already, and as you might guess that messes with some things. I can do most magic fine, but to turn something into a familiar requires a certain catalyst I have to prepare, which will take me some time to track down the ingredients for and prepare."</p><p>"Then that's what I want," she says. "I want you to make a creature of my choice into your familiar. And I want to watch how you do it and do frequent checkups on it."</p><p>I frown. "I don't know how I feel about <em>you </em>choosing a familiar for <em>me</em>. I don't think a familiar bond should be so casual."</p><p>"That's fair I suppose," she grudgingly accedes. "How about if I provide a list of possible animals and you can choose from them? And I'll even let you spend time with them first. I don't care about the specific type of animal, I just want to make sure it's one I'm very familiar with first, so I can see how it grows."</p><p>Hmm. Getting to choose a familiar from a selection of most likely magical creatures? That does sound nice. "Alright. I'll work on getting that catalyst and let you know when I have it. Not sure how long it'll take, could be a couple of days, could be a couple of months."</p><p>"That's fine," she says. "I'll get that letter of recommendation to you tomorrow then. I trust that you'll keep up your end of the bargain."</p><p>"Thank you," I say, nodding my head.</p><p>With that, she stands up. "Well now that I know there's nothing to worry about I'll get out of your hair. I'm sure you have things to get to."</p><p>"Yua, say goodbye and thank you to miss Abe," I say.</p><p>"Bye-bye!" Yua says from Momo's arms. "Thanks for making Yua able to talk!"</p><p>Kiyome smiles and scratches Yua on the head. "You're very welcome you little cutie pie. Come say hi anytime you want, okay?"</p><p>"Okay!" Yua replies, purring.</p><p>Kiyome finishes saying her goodbyes and then leaves. Sona stands up. "Alright, we're a bit behind schedule so wrap up any work you may have left to do and get ready to teleport." She looks at me. "Are you ready?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm good to go," I say.</p><p>She nods. "Good." The rest of the girls gather around us. I see Ruruko come back from the door, just having locked it. When Sona sees that everyone is ready she nods and then makes a gesture. A hidden magic circle lights up beneath our feet and I feel that pulling sensation in my gut and we're suddenly somewhere else.</p><p>I look around. We're in some sort of gymnasium or something. The floor is smooth concrete except for certain areas that have a padded covering and there are all sorts of equipment in various places, most of it I don't recognize.</p><p>"What is this place?" I ask.</p><p>"Our personal training hall," Sona answers. "Human equipment isn't enough for the training we need. Too fragile and limited to human maximums and there doesn't exist anything for training magic. So I had this place made so we could train efficiently."</p><p>"Impressive," I say, still looking around. I turn back around to see them headed for a door nearby.</p><p>"You wait out here, we're going to get changed in the locker room," Sona calls out to me. I nod and they all shuffle into a door near to where we teleported in.</p><p>Hmm. I could wait out here like a good boy. Or I could put some of my new skills to use and do something I've wanted to do since I picked Rogue as my starting class.</p><p>The first thing I do is use [Void Detect]. It might be my new favorite skill. [Detect] would point out traps and secret entrances and hidden things like that. [Void Detect] notices everything, including magic. There were magic circles all over the school that I picked up on, though I couldn't discern their purpose. It also picks up on active cameras as I found out when some of my classmates took a video of each other to send to another friend.</p><p>Magic and cameras are mostly what I'm looking for when I use it now. I don't find any cameras, but I find a lot of magic. Most of it is on various pieces of equipment though, which I ignore. The important piece of magic is the hidden magic circle inscribed on the door.</p><p>I nod. Okay, don't go near the door. Thankfully that's not an issue. I'm not sure what the magic circle on the door does, but I'm going to work under the assumption that it's a camera. Realistically, it's most likely a lock or security measure, or maybe even just something that logs who goes through, but it's better to be safe than sorry.</p><p>Acting casual, I go to the wall a few feet away from the door and lean against it. This puts my back to the locker room. If the magic circle on the door is a camera, it shouldn't be able to see me here, and I don't see any other magic circles like it that would have an angle on me.</p><p>I confirm with [Void Detect] that none of them have reacted to me moving before I make my next move. I pull my Peephole out of my inventory and attach it to the wall, giving me a clear view into the locker room.</p><p>The scene within was exactly what I expected, the beautiful girls of the Student Council undressing. By this time most of them were down to their underwear and in the process of taking it off to reveal themselves fully.</p><p>But I can't bring myself to enjoy the display. When I became a Rogue, I'll admit that using it for voyeurism was definitely on my mind. And maybe if I had done so earlier, I would have enjoyed it. But now? I look at Momo as she steps out of her panties. She is gorgeous. And I've already had sex with her and seen her naked multiple times. It's nice seeing her naked now, but not as satisfying.</p><p>I look at the other girls. They're all very beautiful, and seeing them naked is nice, but it's not arousing. I'm too used to being able to have sex pretty much any time I want. Peeping on girls just isn't enough for me anymore.</p><p>With a sigh, I pull the peephole off the wall and stash it back into my inventory. The context is important too, I think. Getting changed is just not sexy enough when it's not a strip show.</p><p>A few minutes later the girls file out of the locker room and I take a moment to appreciate their outfits. Rather than the cliche bloomers and t-shirts, they are wearing proper exercise gear. Tops that are basically sports bras that cover just a bit more skin and compression tights and shorts that hug their legs.</p><p>"Alright Axton, you can go get changed now," Sona says.</p><p>"No need," I say. I snap my fingers for dramatic effect and in the same instant, I swap my school uniform for my own workout gear, which was a compression t-shirt and basketball shorts.</p><p>Sona blinks in surprise. "So your Sacred Gear can be used like that? Useful."</p><p>"Just have to be touching it," I say as I approach the group. "I can decide the orientation and position when I pull things back out. Can't do anything with velocity though, everything comes out with none."</p><p>"Can you use it to catch projectiles then?" She asks. I can see how she's thinking of hypothetical situations and analyzing them, it's the same expression she wears when we play chess.</p><p>"A good question," I answer casually. "I haven't really tried. It definitely won't work on energy-based projectiles, I can only store solid things. Even liquids need to be in a container before I can store them."</p><p>"I see," she says before shaking her head. "No, we can experiment later. First, warmups!"</p><hr/><p>Training with the Student Council is more mundane than I expected. The majority of the first part of the training is fairly standard exercise, though everyone used much heavier weights.</p><p>The sparring afterward is more interesting. I decided to limit myself to just my physical stats, my Rogue skills, and [Void Detect]. Though with [Void Detect] was vague about how good it is, mostly just clueing them in that I had a large degree of awareness at all angles of me at all times. I wanted to appear competent, but not too strong. If they knew how powerful I really am, they might give up on thinking they can recruit me, since I'm pretty sure they can't actually reincarnate me.</p><p>That proves more than enough to impress them though, and it even gains me 8 Affection with Tsubasa, something I'm very grateful for. Tsubasa and Reya are the girls with the lowest Affections scores in the Student council, with them both being at a measly 16 before Tsubasa's went up. Now if only I can get Reya's up as well.</p><p>After sparring we cool down with some non-strenuous practice. For the magic casters, this means practicing their spells on self-repairing target dummies and thrown targets. For the more physically focused people, like myself, it's mostly activities to help our reactions and hand-eye coordination. Things like juggling, reflex tests in a game that I'm told it's forbidden to call whack-a-mole despite its appearances, and dodging softballs coming out from multiple launchers from different angles and at random times. The magic casters had to do that last one as well.</p><p>The really interesting part is afterward when we finish training. Apparently, they normally finish training by bathing together in a large bath attached to the training hall. And Sona forgot to account for me being there, and the fact that there was only one changing room and one bath.</p><p>"I can just go after you guys," I offer as I watch Sona internally debate with herself. "Or just shower at home."</p><p>She shakes her head. "Unacceptable. Bathing together is about more than just cleanliness, it's an important social activity to help bring us together. And it wouldn't be fair of me to exclude you from social activities like this when I promised I would show you what it's like to be part of my peerage."</p><p>She thinks for a moment longer before sighing. "I suppose we'll just have to do it this way then. Axton, you go in first, do your quick getting changed thing, and enter the bath with a towel around your waist at all times. Everyone else, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wear a towel if you want to cover up."</p><p>I put on an overly innocent expression. "Oh you don't have to mind me, I don't mind a little casual nudity between friends."</p><p>Sona shoots me a look letting me know she's not buying my act. I just grin and she rolls her eyes. "I suppose I won't stop you if you're comfortable going nude with Axton here. I'll leave it up to all of you to choose for yourself." She directs her gaze back to me. "Except you Axton. That towel better remain around your waist at all times."</p><p>"Sure sure," I say casually. "Keep myself covered, I can do that." I glance at the other girls, gauging their reactions. None of them seems upset or annoyed, and in fact, a couple of them are grinning. Momo looks totally unfazed but happy, and Ruruko is blushing slightly but she also looks excited.</p><p>I do as Sona says and head in first. Once in the changing room I grab a towel, stash my clothes into my inventory, and wrap the towel around my waist. When I do, I get a notification.</p><p>
  <strong>[Ticket Scratcher] Perk Activated!<br/>A lucky event has occurred!</strong>
</p><p>I freeze and immediately cast out [Void Detect] and [Sound Domain], searching for anything out of place, but nothing seems different. The only thing of note is that the towels have faint traces of magic in them. But without knowledge of how Devil magic works, I have no way of knowing what kind. It could be anything from self-drying to magical GPS to something that sets it on fire. Whatever it is though, it's weak, and I conclude that it's either a good thing related to the perk activating, or it's completely unrelated and not worth worry about.</p><p>Either way, I deactivate my skills and put it out of my mind. I can investigate it more later if it doesn't become obvious before then. For all I know the timing is a coincidence and something lucky happened halfway across the world.</p><p>Seeing the door labeled 'Bath', I leave the changing room so the girls can use it. The bath itself is nice. Not hot springs nice, but it's far better than the sort of utilitarian vibe the rest of the training hall has. On one side of the room, there's a row of mirrors with showerheads hanging below them, a stool placed in front of each one. The rest of the room is taken up by a large single bath set into the floor with only a small lip. Steam gently rises from the still bathwater.</p><p>I pick a random stool to sit down at and start rinsing myself off and washing my hair. A minute passes and then the door opens again and I see the girls file in.</p><p>Most of them have towels wrapped around them. Momo is the only one without a towel at all, though Ruruko, Tsubasa, and Tomoe are only wearing towels around their waist, leaving their chests bare.</p><p>I take them in with a glance, one that they notice since they're all looking at me, but I don't let my gaze linger, as much as I would like to. It's too bad I need to keep them in sight to use [Erotic Pierrot] on them.</p><p>I hear footsteps behind me, and Momo speaks up. "Do you want me to wash your back?"</p><p>"I certainly won't turn down the offer," I say. I hear the sound of a washbasin being filled with water and then the feeling of a soapy sponge on my back. There's a moment of disappointment when I realize she's not going the erotic route, but I ignore it. We're surrounded by people, and Momo isn't one for that sort of public display. As she washes my back I work on the rest of me.</p><p>The other girls settle in to start rinsing off as well, though they give the two of us a little room. I did pick the mirror closest to the far wall, so perhaps it was accidental.</p><p>"I'm surprised Ruruko isn't over here wanting to help as well," I remark after a few moments.</p><p>"She said that since the two of you are going on a date after this, she would give us some time alone beforehand," Momo explains.</p><p>"That's rather considerate of her," I say. "And not to spit in the face of that consideration, but speaking of that date, I was wondering if you have any ideas about what she might like to do for it."</p><p>"Oh? The great charming Axton is coming to little old me for advice?" she asks with a laugh. "You don't already have an amazing date night planned?"</p><p>I roll my eyes good-naturedly. "Well it is sorta last minute, and I have a few ideas, but you know her a lot better than I do, so I thought I'd get another perspective."</p><p>Momo hums but doesn't say anything for a moment while she scrubs my back. "Ruruko is a very active girl. She's also not one for formal activities. She's gotten used to some since joining Sona's peerage, but she would still prefer to eat a burger than a steak. She has trouble sitting still for extended periods of time, but that's also something she's gotten more used to. A date with her should be engaging, and casual."</p><p>"No movies and no fancy restaurants, got it," I nod. I think for a moment. "Are there any teen clubs in Kuoh? Or any sort of dance place we could get into?"</p><p>"That's a good idea," Momo comments. "Ruruko's talented enough with mental magic to get you into any place that has to check ID's I'm sure, even if she's not supposed to. But there are a few places for the underage crowd. I'll text you where they are when we get out of the bath." She rinses off my back with the showerhead. "Speaking of, you're done."</p><p>"That means it's my turn to wash <em>your</em> back," I say. I turn my head around to look at her and see that she's smiling.</p><p>"If you would, I would very much appreciate it," she says before sitting on her own stool, her back facing me.</p><p>I pick up the same sponge and give it a quick rinse, apply more body wash to it, and start lightly scrubbing her pale back. It's a little hard not to get distracted. Her naked form is right there in front of me, and I want to take her right here and now.</p><p>To distract myself, I start talking again. "It feels like I have so much going on these days. We haven't gotten to spend much time together lately. Not privately at least."</p><p>"Axton I just spent the night at your place last Saturday," she reminds me. "That was less than four days ago."</p><p>"But it feels like so much longer," I complain dramatically. She giggles and I laugh as well.</p><p>"How about this then?" she says. "I <em>might</em> be able to come over tomorrow night. I'll have to check some things first."</p><p>"I don't have anything planned for then," I say. "I would love to have you over again. Last time I didn't get to show off my wonderful massage skills."</p><p>"You most certainly didn't," she says, her tone slightly surprised and teasingly angry. "I can't believe you've hidden such a thing from me."</p><p>I chuckle. "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm such a jerk. Let me make it up to you by giving you the best massage you've ever had."</p><p>"Mmm, that does sound nice," she replies. "I'll let you know tomorrow if I can do it. You'll have to survive until then."</p><p>"It'll be a struggle, but I'll fight until the very end," I reply, and she laughs again. "Speaking of sad things, I'm done with your back." I rinse off the remaining suds.</p><p>"Let's get in the bath then," she says as she stands up, suddenly putting her perfect butt at my eye level. It really is shaped perfectly, with the-</p><p>"Axton," Momo calls out to me, snapping me out of it. I look at her and she has an eyebrow raised. "Get a little distracted?"</p><p>I stand up. "Can you blame me? Such a beautiful sight suddenly shows up in front of me, it's only natural I get a little mesmerized."</p><p>She smiles at the compliment even as she tries to look serious. "Now Axton, we're not alone right now. Behave."</p><p>I stand up straighter and cross my heart with a finger, my expression serious for a moment before I grin. She rolls her eyes but smiles, and the two of us step into the bath near some of the other girls, most of whom are already in there.</p><p>"So the lovebirds decide to join us?" Tsubasa teases as Momo and I settle in. Ruruko is on my other side.</p><p>"It wouldn't be much of a social gathering if I hogged Axton all to myself the entire time," Momo says. "Besides, he already knows me plenty well."</p><p>"Would you say he knows you inside and out?" Tomoe asks, and there are blushes all around as the other girls process the implication.</p><p>I laugh, but Momo is just completely unfazed. "That is not entirely inaccurate I suppose," she says. Tomoe grins, though there's a hint of surprise on her face like she didn't expect Momo to respond so easily.</p><p>I quickly glance around. Ruruko, Tomoe, and Tsubasa are all in the bath and all within an easy line of sight. Perfect. I use [Erotic Pierrot] on all of them simultaneously to slightly raise their arousal. They chose to be topless, and I don't want to pass that opportunity up.</p><p>Sona and Tsubaki are the last two to get into the bath, both stepping in carefully with their towels secured tightly around them.</p><p>"So Axton," Sona asks as she settles in. "What do you think about our training?"</p><p>"It's pretty impressive," I say. "The equipment is good and your regimen is solid. I'm guessing that each of you have slowly but steadily been growing in strength since starting to train like this."</p><p>"Is that how you grew? Slow at steady?" Saji asks, and as I look at her I realize I've paid remarkably little attention to her for being one of two people I gender-bent before coming to this world. Then again, it's not like I gave much thought to her male counterpart either.</p><p>Saji is cute, and not in the tomboy way like I expected. Her hair is short, but everything else about her is very feminine. She's also a little on the short side, but her curves and her bust make it obvious that she's not a child.</p><p>"Not really," I admit. "I've grown in fits and bursts. I'll jump up as I figure out something new, increase as I improve it, and then taper off."</p><p>Tsubaki nods. "That isn't unusual for Sacred Gear wielders, especially when they possess Sacred Gears whose functions are not simple."</p><p>"Though I'm not convinced your abilities are derived from a Sacred Gear," Sona says. "Or at least, not a Sacred Gear alone. You do too much, and some of them don't fit any sort of theme. You must be using magic, but I've never heard of an instinctual magician. Magic requires equations and calculations, things you have to be very aware of when you're doing them."</p><p>I shrug. "I don't know what to tell you Sona. Maybe I've just got a really kick-ass Sacred Gear then?"</p><p>She rolls her eyes. "It's not important. A better understanding of why you can do the things you can do could help in training them more efficiently, but ultimately it is the results that matter, and since you are able to continue improving yourself, the question of 'how' can wait for later."</p><p>Sorry Sona, things will only get more confusing as I gain new abilities.</p><p>We spend some time like that, just relaxing in the bath and chatting about various things. The girls all seem relaxed, no longer caring that they're in the bath with a boy. Even the topless girls that I've been nudging with [Erotic Pierrot] are relaxed, despite their slowly increasing arousal. Or maybe because of it?</p><p>My own arousal is rising, for sure. Not much, but with the sight of so many beautiful girls, it's hard not to get aroused. This situation is so different than the peeping I attempted earlier. Duration helps a lot, but that half of the girls here were willing to go topless near me was big as well. Even those more covered were sexier because it allowed my imagination to run wild. Who needs peeping when you have one naked girl pressed up against you on the left and a half-naked girl scooting every closer to you on the right?</p><p>Thankfully my towel is tied tightly and I wasn't heavily aroused, so my erection isn't noticeable to anyone else.</p><p>It's as I'm thinking that when something changes. I feel the towel loosen around my waist. Surprised, I look down, and notice that it's glowing lightly.</p><p>Looking around, I notice all the other towels are glowing, and that the others are noticing it as well. They look as confused as I do. We all stand up in shock as the glow increases in intensity, clearly showing the magic circles hidden in them.</p><p>"What is this?!" Sona cries out.</p><p>Before anyone can answer her, there's a slight ripping sound, and at once, everyone's towels dissolve completely, exposing all of us.</p><p>For a moment, the room goes dead silent as everyone freezes. My eyes travel around the room, taking in the nude forms of the eight girls around me. From height to bust size to hair color, each girl was different and together they covered a wide spectrum of tastes.</p><p>I notice several of them looking at the same place, that place being my erection, which is now clear for all to see.</p><p><strong>+8 Affection with Sona Sitri<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Tsubaki Shinra<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Reya Kusuka<br/></strong> <strong>+7 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/></strong> <strong>+16 Affection with Tsubasa Yura<br/></strong> <strong>+7 Affection with Kagetsu Saji<br/>+16 Affection with Ruruko Nimura</strong></p><p>
  <strong>A lewd skill gem has been rewarded for Ruruko Nimura reaching exactly 69 Affection</strong>
</p><p>Nice, I guess Kyu made some tweaks to my system. I'll choose that skill later, right now I have to pay attention to the scene unfolding in front of me.</p><p>Sona, Tsubaki, and Ruruko all start blushing furiously. Reya actually seems relatively unfazed, both by her sudden nakedness and my own. Saji has her eyes shut and is crouched down, covering herself, a blush clear on her face as well. Tomoe and Tsubasa are staring at me with no hint of shame on their face, and Momo is...smiling? I didn't expect her to have a strong reaction, but something about that doesn't fit.</p><p>Before I can think on it more though, Sona seems to gather herself enough to start taking action. "Axton," she says, anger in her voice. "Turn around, right now."</p><p>I nod as I do as she says. "I understand. You need to see what the cheeks look like too." I stand with my hands on my hips.</p><p>"That's not- no nevermind," she says. "Now. What happened?"</p><p>"The towels were booby-trapped!" Ruruko offers.</p><p>"By a member of the Sitri clan," Momo adds.</p><p>"What makes you say that Momo?" Sona asks, confused.</p><p>"The magic circles that appeared didn't last long, but they clearly had the Sitri crest in them," Momo explains.</p><p>"She's right," Tsubaki confirms. "Thinking back on it, they definitely did."</p><p>Sona sighs. "In that case, there's an obvious culprit. Sorry girls, it looks like we're a victim of another of my sister's pranks."</p><p>"Your sister the magical girl?" I ask. I pause and look for the notification of increased Affection with Serafall, but it doesn't come. Weird, I thought that would work.</p><p>"My sister the <em>pervert</em>," Sona grumbles. "Nevermind. Axton, please go dry off and get changed. We'll follow you in a few minutes. And don't you dare turn around."</p><p>I raise my hands in surrender. "Got it got it. You girls definitely have nothing to be ashamed of though. Each of you has a body to die for."</p><p>I can practically see her expression in my imagination, an adorable and amusing mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Go<em>. Now.</em>" She bites out and I laugh as I walk out, making no attempt to cover myself. I do as she says though, and make no attempts to peek further. I saw everything already, and I won't forget it anytime soon.</p><p>I was probably pushing her a little too much, but when her reactions were so good it was hard to resist. I understand now why Serafall acts as she does. Speaking of the overprotective siscon, I'm surprised neither my teasing nor me calling Serafall a magical girl got me any Affection gains with her. She had to be spying on us, right? Maybe she didn't have sound or something. [Void Detect] doesn't pick up anything that might be spying, but with so many magic circles it's hard to tell.</p><p>I guess that solves the question of what the [Ticket Scratcher] perk was referring to because I certainly feel pretty lucky.</p><p>I dry off quickly and leave the changing room after throwing on a casual outfit suitable for going to a club. Which meant just jeans, a plain t-shirt, and a light zip-up jacket.</p><p>While I wait for the girls I look over my skill list again. The amount of level 1 skills there annoy me, but they're level 1 because I barely use them or they're just too situational. I didn't try every combination of skills last time I used my Skill Combiner perk, just the ones that seemed like they may work, and a couple of random ones. But maybe there are more I can combine? Noting some similar ones, I give it a try.</p><p>
  <strong>Skills [Lockpicking], [Decode], and [Hacking] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added</strong>
</p><p><strong>[Cracking] - Level 31(41%)<br/></strong> <strong>Attempt to access something that has been secured. Some applications require specific tools.</strong></p><p>That makes sense. A more general skill, which is what I was looking for, so I can level it up easier. Though the thought of getting better at hacking by picking the locks on old fantasy-style chests is amusing.</p><p>
  <strong>Skills [Track] and [Cold Reading] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added</strong>
</p><p><strong>[Gut Feeling] - Level 33(41%)<br/></strong> <strong>Passively increases your intuition based on minute details you don't consciously pick up on, and extends that almost supernaturally.</strong></p><p>Again, a more general skill, though I half expected it not to work. I suppose tracking and reading someone's face are pretty similar in terms of paying attention to small details and extrapolating from there.</p><p>Hmm. Those two new skills seem pretty different, but for the hell of it, I try combining them.</p><p>
  <strong>Skills [Cracking] and [Gut Feeling] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added</strong>
</p><p><strong>[Pericognition] - Level 35(72%)<br/></strong> <strong>Passively increases your ability to gather and analyze information to a supernatural level</strong></p><p>Jackpot. Not only is the skill broad enough to level up from a wide array of activities, but it is also useful enough to be applied to all sorts of things. And on top of that all it's a powerful skill for sure.</p><p>I browse over my skill list some more but nothing strikes me as being compatible, and I'm wary of combining skills recklessly. Especially my most used skills. It would be endlessly annoying if I had to redesign my whole style of combat because I mixed a skill with one I shouldn't have.</p><p>I'm pulled from going over my skill list by a text message. I open it up and it's from Momo. The message is just a link, and following it brings me to the website for a teen club in town. Looking at the map they provide, I memorize where it is.</p><p>I put my phone away as the girls come out of the changing room. Most are in their school uniforms again, though Ruruko is dressed more casually. She's still wearing her iconic green striped thigh high socks, but she's wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt and a ruffled skirt instead of her uniform.</p><p>Ruruko splits off from the group and heads for me. "You look cute," I comment.</p><p>She beams and twirls, her skirt flaring outward with the motion. "Thanks!" she says. She turns and waves goodbye to the other student council members, who are heading for the teleportation circle. They wave back before disappearing in a flash of light. She turns back to me. "So where are we headed?"</p><p>"Can you teleport us to the Plaza?" I ask and she nods. "In that case, there's a place called Titty Typhoon where we can grab some food and do some dancing." Titty Typhoon is a ridiculous name for a club, but it also sounds vaguely familiar.</p><p>"Ooh, I love that place," she says as we step onto the magic circle. "That sounds great." The magic circle flares to life and the now-familiar sensation of teleportation whisks us to an alleyway. I look out of the alleyway to try to figure out where we are to orient myself. An action that turns out to be unnecessary when Ruruko grabs my hand and starts dragging me in the right direction.</p><p>"Do you know why it's called that?" I ask her, making conversation as we walk.</p><p>"No, and that's the best part about it!" she says excitedly. "See, a ton of people wanted to know when the owner first opened it up, but he refused to say. There was actually a huge fuss about it, with a lot of adults complaining about how a place for teens has 'a vulgar and inappropriate name'. But the owner refused to change it or explain it, and in fact, all the talk about it and the fact that their parents disapproved made it an instant hit with all the teens of Kuoh. Most people think that was his goal in the first place, but I don't know about that. I think there's something else going on there."</p><p>"I'd buy that it's just a brilliant marketing move," I say. "Mostly because I can't think of any other possible reason. Unless he's some odd kind of pervert."</p><p>"Nah he's not, I've talked to him a couple of times," she says. "Or if he is, he's really good at hiding it." We turn a corner and see the entrance to the place. "Ooh good, there's no line to get in. I guess it is a weeknight after all. Come on, let's go!"</p><p>I let her drag me along. Ruruko is certainly much more energetic than Momo but in an adorable way. Like she's a puppy that is just bursting with energy.</p><p>We get into the club with no fuss. There's not really a bouncer, just a man sitting behind a booth who we pay and he lets us into the rest of the club. The club itself is simple. Directly across from us is a bar-like area, and I see kids sitting there eating fried foods and drinking soda. To our left is a stage with a DJ playing some electronic music. Everything else is just one flat area where teens are bouncing and dancing, most in groups of two or more.</p><p>I've never been much of a dancer, but I have fun. After loading up on fried chicken and soda, Ruruko and I spend a couple of hours just dancing together. At one point her dancing was just her grinding on me and grinning at the feeling of my erection pushing up against her ass as she teases me. She doesn't keep it up for long, but I do get another 8 Affection out of it.</p><p>Eventually, she tires though, and we leave the club in high spirits and low energy. We start walking with no destination in mind, just wandering the streets. We chat about various things, most of them school-related, and it brings to mind a question I had earlier.</p><p>"You said you accidentally found out about Sona when you went to go ask to join the Student Council, right?" I ask.</p><p>"Yep. Why?"</p><p>"Well, I was wondering, why did you want to join the Student Council? No offense but, you don't strike me as the type that wants to get involved in bureaucracy. Or the type to join so it looks good on a college application."</p><p>She smiles. "That's what my friends said too when I said I was going to join. But honestly? It wasn't about the position of the Student Council. I didn't care about making the school a better place, or being involved in my education, or whatever other reasons people usually give for joining. I wanted to join because of the other members of the Student Council."</p><p>"What do you mean?" I prompt.</p><p>"I'm the most recent member of the Student Council," she glances at me. "Well, except for you, but you haven't fully joined so I'm still pretty much the newest. Now, think about all the other people on the Student Council."</p><p>I do so. "They're all girls?"</p><p>"More than that," she says. "They're all beautiful and confident girls, and they all have an aura around them that makes them feel bigger than life. And I wanted to be like that too, so I decided to join them and hopefully become like them." She giggles. "Well, it turned out they're like that not because they're part of the Student Council but because they're actual Devils, but it all worked out in the end."</p><p>"Very true," I say, nodding. "You are very beautiful, though I would guess you were pretty beautiful before you became a Devil too."</p><p>She stops, and I do as well. I realize that we're in front of the fountain in the center of the plaza. I look at her and notice her expression is contemplative.</p><p>"You know," she starts. "I don't think I've ever been called beautiful before. I've been called cute, and there's been a few times I've been called pretty or sexy, but never beautiful."</p><p>I step in close to her and place my hands on her waist. She looks up at me questioningly but also expectantly. "In that case, let me say it again. Ruruko, you are very beautiful. You are cute and pretty and sexy too, but you are one of the most beautiful girls I know." If you rank them in a top 20 list. Stupid sexy Devils. They all look so good.</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Ruruko Nimura</strong>
</p><p>"Yeah?" she asks, her tone distracted as our faces draw closer.</p><p>"Very much so," I confirm. I lean down further and connect our lips. I activate [Touch of Pleasure] to make it feel just a little better.</p><p>Her lips are hesitant but soft and warm. She relaxes in my arms as I kiss her and presses herself up against me. I feel her modest boobs press into my chest. I gently probe with my tongue to see if she's willing to deepen the kiss, and she does, opening her mouth more as our kiss turns into a slow and sensuous make-out session.</p><p>Much too soon though, she pulls back, breathing slightly heavy. "Wow," she comments. "I had no idea kissing was so good. I mean, I thought it would be because everyone always seems to really like it, but I wasn't expecting that much."</p><p>"It's pretty great," I agree. "Especially with a girl as beautiful as you." I lean in and whisper. "And there's all sorts of things that feel even better."</p><p>She blushes and looks down. "I've heard that too. But I don't think I'm ready for that." She looks up, conviction in her eyes. "Soon for sure. Momo keeps bragging about how good you are and how good it feels and I definitely want to experience that. But not tonight. I need more time to prepare."</p><p>Momo's been bragging about me? "Okay. That's one hundred percent fine," I reassure her. "There's no rush, so we can definitely take this at whatever speed you're most comfortable with." I'll have her soon either way, I can delay it a little while longer.</p><p>"Thank you," she says. Then she looks up at me shyly. "Can we keep kissing though? I do want more of that."</p><p>I laugh before I lean down and start kissing her again. Our date was simple, but it was nice. It was exactly the sort of thing I live for.</p><hr/><p>I wake up to the sound of the alarm on my phone going off and immediately notice that something feels off. Without moving much I turn off my alarm and open my eyes. As expected, the strange feeling is once again at my dick, though it was in a new fun way today.</p><p>My underwear is pulled down again, leaving my morning wood to stand at attention. And Kyu was there in her smaller form, laying over it with her limbs dangling like a sloth sleeping on a tree branch. My dick twitches involuntarily at the sight, and the sudden movement seems to be enough to awaken her fully.</p><p>She pushes herself up and sleepily looks around while yawning. There's a beat where I just stare at her, waiting for her to notice. She notices me staring, blinks sleepily at me with a confused look on her face, and then looks down to see what she's straddling.</p><p>"Oh," she says when she realizes. She shifts her weight, causing my dick to bounce slightly. "Hehehe, that's fun."</p><p>"That seems to be the general consensus of the girls who have bounced on my dick," I say. "Though I admit, you do it very differently than them."</p><p>She rolls her eyes and flies up before transforming to her full size and standing next to the bed. "Come on, join me in the shower. I wanna hear about your date. I half expected the two of you to come back here last night."</p><p>I'm surprised by Kyu inviting me to the shower herself after the events of yesterday morning, but I don't comment, simply getting up and following her to the bathroom.</p><p>"Not much to tell," I say. "Though I should start with what happened with Sona."</p><p>I explain the bath incident to her as we get into the shower and start lathering up. We're close, close enough to bump into each other frequently, but we're back to back so it's not too sexy.</p><p>Kyu cackles at my story. "Oh man, that must have been great. I noticed when you gained Affection with seven girls at once and was wondering how that happened, but I thought you were just showing off your fighting skills or something, not your dick. Speaking of, that new thing I set up triggered then too. Have you gotten a new skill yet?"</p><p>"Oh, right," I say. "No, I forgot about it. Here, let me do it now." I pull out the skill gem and crush it. A menu appears in front of me.</p><p><strong>Lewd Skill Gem Used!<br/>Pick a Lewd Skill!<br/>[Refraction Reduction]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Size]<br/></strong> <strong>[Imbue Elasticity]<br/></strong> <strong>[Imbue Tightness]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Flavor]<br/></strong> <strong>[Summon Appendages]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Fertility]<br/></strong> <strong>[X-Ray Vision]<br/></strong> <strong>[Lubricate]<br/></strong> <strong>[Clean Body]<br/></strong> <strong>[Seal Orgasm]<br/>[Link Sensations]</strong></p><p>"Hmm," I muse, pretending to think about it. "Which one should I choose?" I feel Kyu tense slightly behind me.</p><p>"Uhh, I don't know," she says, trying and failing to sound casual. "There are a lot of good ones on there. Some of them allow you to have a lot of fun."</p><p>"There is a specific one I have my eye on," I continue. "I have a pretty specific use in mind for it that I'm just dying to try out."</p><p>"Oh yeah?" she asks, clearly very interested. "Which one?"</p><p>I turn around and allow my erection to push into her back, the base of it resting between her butt cheeks as the tip reaches past the small of her back. She shivers.</p><p>"This one," I say softly directly into her ear as I choose [Imbue Elasticity].</p><p><strong>[Imbue Elasticity] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Allows an orifice to comfortably stretch beyond its normal limits. Lasts for the duration of the sexual encounter. Maximum stretching increases with level.</strong></p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</strong>
</p><p>Kyu tenses up. "Axton," she says. "I need you to rinse off, get out of this shower, and go to school. Right now."</p><p>"Are you sure?" I ask, smirking. "I mean I can lend you a hand if you want-"</p><p>"Nope!" She cuts me off. "Nope, nope. Not gonna picture that until you are out of this room. Which you better be within the next thirty seconds or I'm going to get a <em>lot</em> stingier with rewards."</p><p>Ah, she's pretty serious now. "Alright alright," I say, pulling away from her. I quickly rinse off, step out of the shower, and grab a towel. "Have fun~" I call out to her as I leave.</p><p>As I finish getting ready for school and as I wake up and feed Yua, I remember something I have in my inventory. Right before Yua and I leave, I leave behind my Polymorph Phallus in plain view on my bed. She'll see it when she finishes in the shower. And I'm curious what she'll do then.</p><p>On the way to school I pull open my inventory to go over the loot I got last night. When I got home, everyone else was asleep, so I headed into the dungeon for a few hours of grinding. I almost have the Hard mode zombie dungeon cleared. One more session and all that will be let is the boss room.</p><p>Still, it had been pretty productive. I got Void Mage to level 71, unlocking some goodies in the process.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 WIS<br/>Prophetic Dreams - Sometimes catch glimpses of the future in your dreams</strong>
</p><p>Another perk that would activate randomly, and weirdly one that encourages me to sleep. I haven't dreamed since coming to this world, so I'm curious if I'll start now. I hadn't had any last night, but I had only slept for a few hours.</p><p><strong>[Void Collapse] - Level 21(34%)<br/></strong> <strong>Create a small orb of Void that instantly collapses reality around it and draws things in. Consumes beings and attacks it draws in to sustain itself. Costs 12980MP</strong></p><p><strong>[Void Sight] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Peer through the void to see a distant location. Range is 58km.</strong></p><p>My two new Void Mage skills. First was another powerful offensive skill, though it also seems like it could be used defensively. I experimented with it a little in the dungeon. The orb created was a little smaller than a basketball, and it only seemed to pull things in from a couple of meters around it. But it absolutely chewed through anything caught in it, including the Tank I tried it on. And so long as something within its range was being consumed, it stayed up. All in all, it's a very powerful addition to my arsenal.</p><p>The second one is a nice utility, though I haven't tried it yet. I use it now to look into the bathroom back in my apartment and nearly stumble. Walking while viewing a stationary point like that really throws off my balance. I decide to save more experimentation with it for later. During class would be a good time.</p><p>And not only did I get two new Void Skills, but [Void Drain] leveled up enough to add another thing to the list of things I could drain.</p><p><strong>[Void Drain] - Level 33(49%)<br/></strong> <strong>Tap into the all-consuming properties of the Void. Coat one or both hands in the hungry Void. Currently can drain: Magic, Stamina, Health</strong></p><p>So now I could refill my MP, SP, and HP directly from enemies. But the skill is only level 33, and it's been adding something new every 10 levels. I wonder what sorts of things I'll be able to drain next?</p><p>And of course, in addition to levels and skills, I got all sorts of loot.</p><p>
  <strong>Major Sterility Potion<br/>Causes the imbiber to be sterile for 1 month</strong>
</p><p>Probably the least interesting item, but one of the more important ones. I drank it immediately of course. I haven't figured out how to make them myself yet, and while I love creampies, I don't love the idea of having children. I've gotten lucky so far, mostly sleeping with girls with either extremely low fertility or who were on the pill. The only exception was Atsuko, and I made sure to finish outside of her every time.</p><p>
  <strong>Scroll of Greater Dispel Magic<br/>Use to dispel all magical effects within a 50-foot radius. Does not affect magic items or passive effects.</strong>
</p><p>Like most of the scrolls I have, this could prove to be exactly the right thing I need to get me out of a tight spot.</p><p>I also got a Heart Crystal of each size, from smallest to largest. I use the +5 on Koneko and the +10 on Reya. I have another +5 I didn't use yesterday that I go ahead and use on Kiyome. Now nobody is under 20 Affection, and in fact, everyone but Kiyome is in the thirties or higher. Except for Raynare, but I'm not counting her. I save the Large and the Super Heart Crystals though. You never know when a +15 or +20 Affection will be needed.</p><p>I also got something quite strange.</p><p>
  <strong>Unique Class Unlocked<br/>See Class Selection screen to see it</strong>
</p><p>Unfortunately, the Class Selection screen is only available when I max out a class, and while my Void Mage class level is fairly high, I'm pretty sure I have a good bit left to go until I max it out. Still, my curiosity is burning at me to find out what unique class I unlocked.</p><p>The last thing I unlocked was a single gacha token. Since the gacha item goes straight into my inventory anyway, there's no real reason I can't roll it now, while walking to school. With a shrug, I go ahead and use it.</p><p>
  <strong>Cauldron Vial<br/>A vial of strange liquid. Drinking it will give you a random superpower. Carries the risk of mutation, or worse.</strong>
</p><p>Again I nearly stumble. That was not what I expected to get from the Gacha. And that is definitely staying in my inventory for the foreseeable future. Those risks are far too high. Normally I would trust [Gamer's Body] to prevent any mutations, but this is something I pulled from the Gacha with the warning attached, and I have a feeling that the Game won't protect me here.</p><p>I'm pulled from my thoughts by a strange feeling on my dick, as if a hand has wrapped around it. Ah, so Kyu must have found the present I left her.</p><p>It's only as I'm sitting down in class that I realize the flaw in my plan. I feel a warm tightness on my tip that slowly travels down along my length until it feels like my entire shaft is being squeezed. Since I share sensations with it, I'm going to have to sit through class while feeling the sensation of fucking Kyu.</p><p>As I rearrange my lap and move my desk so it hides my obvious erection, I settle in to try to get through this without drawing attention to myself from my classmates. I just hope Kyu finishes quickly.</p><hr/><p>I grunt as I thrust into Atsuko from behind in a storage closet during lunch, one of my hands reaching around to grope her chest, which has been partially exposed after her shirt was unbuttoned. My other hand was firmly on her waist as I roughly slammed myself into her. [Imbue Elasticity] made it so I could finally hilt myself entirely in her, though that took a lot of foreplay, leveling of the skill, and more than a few reapplications of the skill.</p><p>It was worth it though. I groan as I slam myself fully into Atsuko again and cum deep inside her, filling her up for the third time. Atsuko's moans are muffled by Aika, who is on the other side of her, their lips locked as they kiss. My seed runs down her legs as well, with me having pumped an equal amount of cum into both of them.</p><p>I pull out of Atsuko, still hard. The girls break their kiss and look down at my erection breathing heavily.</p><p>"Still?" Atsuko comments, her voice shaky from fatigue.</p><p>"One more should be it," I answer.</p><p>"I got it," Aika volunteers. She gets on her knees in front of me and slowly swallows my cock whole. It's been a while since Aika has deep throated me, and I make sure all my lewd skills are active.</p><p>Atsuko, tired but not done, clings to me and starts making out with me as Aika blows me, and I think about what led to this.</p><p>Despite my wishes, Kyu did not finish quickly this morning. In fact, she somehow knew exactly how aroused I was, because she spent the entire morning edging me. She'd get me right to the cusp of orgasm, where I would excuse myself to the bathroom, and then she'd back off long enough for me to calm down a little before she did it again.</p><p>By the time lunch came around, both Aika and Atsuko could tell something was up, and Aika had noticed my boner.</p><p>When it was lunch time I dragged them both out of the classroom, heading for the same storage closet that Aika took me to on my first day of school. The door had barely closed before I had my skills activated and I was getting Aika wet enough for me to insert myself.</p><p>What followed was thirty minutes of frantic and hungry sex as I focused entirely on cumming enough times to tire me out, not bothering to try to hold back. This holds true for my seventh load, as the swirling of Aika's tongue and the tightness of her throat bring me to orgasm.</p><p>She swallows it all like a pro and pulls herself off of my dick, which is finally softening. I breathe a sigh of relief as I feel my head finally clear, and I slump down to the ground, tired. Aika turns herself around so she can sit between my legs, her back resting on me and Atsuko follows us both down and clings to my side.</p><p>"Sorry about that girls," I apologize. "For some reason, I was just super fucking horny this morning." I can't exactly tell them why.</p><p>"It's fine," Atsuko reassures me.</p><p>"In fact," Aika continues. "If you could get like that more often, we wouldn't mind at all." Atsuko makes a noise of agreement.</p><p>I laugh and hug them both close to me. "And I thought <em>I</em> was the insatiable one here." My tone turns more serious. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten to spend much time with you these past few days. I've been busy with the Student Council and the ORC. But it's nice to spend some quality time with you two. Even if it's cuddling in a supply closet with disheveled clothes and covered in bodily fluids." They both laugh.</p><p>"Don't worry too much about it," Atsuko says. "We understand that you have a lot on your plate. We have things we do too, though not as much. I have no idea how you keep up with schoolwork with how much you do."</p><p>"Careful time management," I say, not mentioning that I've done the homework for the next several months of classes already and I studied all the course material. My INT score was basically cheating.</p><p>"You're right though," Aika says. "Even if it's a little unconventional, this is nice."</p><p>"How about we do something this Saturday?" I ask. "Something casual. Maybe just go out on the town and look around. Maybe hang out in my apartment all day. Either one."</p><p>"That sounds nice," Atsuko says, and Aika agrees.</p><p>"It's settled then," I say. I glance at the time. "But for now, we probably need to start getting cleaned up if we want to get back to class without smelling like sex."</p><p>Atsuko hesitates, looking tempted. I give her a look, and she pouts but starts to get up. The sight of both of them in front of me, their clothes half hanging off of them and cum leaking down their legs, is nearly enough to arouse me again. I force my eyes away.</p><p>We get ourselves somewhat presentable and I peek my head out, confirming beforehand with [Void Detect] that the way is clear. The three of us dash for an unoccupied set of bathrooms to wash up.</p><p>As I'm wiping myself down, I spy Kyu in her full size behind me in the mirror. "Did you have fun?" I ask, half annoyed, half amused.</p><p>"I should be asking you that," she says, her voice smug. "You certainly look like you did."</p><p>"Your little payback got me <em>quite</em> riled up," I say. "Thankfully Atsuko and Aika were there to help me deal with it."</p><p>"Oh, I know. I got here just in time to see you slip into the closet. You put on quite the show."</p><p>"Glad I could entertain," I joke.</p><p>"Oh don't be such a crybaby," Kyu says. "You're the one that left the dildo that mirrors feelings directly to your own dick."</p><p>"Admittedly not my most well thought out plan," I say. "But that does bring up a question." I turn around, coming face to face with her. "How was it for you? Because it was pretty incredible for me."</p><p>She grins. "It wasn't bad, not bad at all. I think I'm going to hold on to that dildo, it's my new favorite one."</p><p>"That's fine by me, so long as you do me one little favor," I say.</p><p>She narrows her eyes at me, obviously surprised by how easily I agreed. "And what sort of favor would that be?"</p><p>"Hold still," I say. Before she can react I step close to her, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her deeply, capturing her lips with mine.</p><p>Her lips taste like sweets and are the most inviting thing I've ever felt. She's stiff at first, but almost immediately she relaxes and her hands are in my hair and our mouths open and we're making out desperately, hungry for each other.</p><p>After just a few short and sweet moments, we break apart, both breathing heavily.</p><p><strong>+2 Affection with Kyu Sugardust</strong><br/>Perk rewarded for reaching 100 Affection with Kyu Sugardust<br/>[First Impressions] - Gain a random amount of Affection with a person the first time you meet them</p><p>"Oh," I comment, surprised. I just wanted to kiss her, I didn't expect that to be what pushed her to max Affection. That perk is pretty good too.</p><p>Kyu looks away, a little embarrassed. "Yeah well. It's been a long time coming. It's not too hard for me to fall in love. As a Love Fairy, that's sort of my whole deal. I usually try not to fall in love with my clients, but it never works. That's why I included those objectives for the quest, I knew there was a good chance of it happening. The only question really was when. And you've been nice and fun and so fucking sexy. So yeah. You deserve it, pal."</p><p>I'm a little caught off guard. "I uh. Wow. I mean I sorta kinda knew you felt that way, and I very much care for you as well. I guess it's just a little weird when we both have a little number we can look at that says it, huh?"</p><p>She shrugs. "Not for me, but maybe I'm just used to it." Her expression becomes stern. "Don't think that this means you can have sex with me now though. You still have the quest to complete. And you better complete it really damn soon."</p><p>"Of course," I say. "I wouldn't expect anything less. And I'll stop teasing you. On purpose anyway. It's not fair when I have a way to vent my sexual frustration and you don't."</p><p>"Oh sure, you say that now that I've literally got you by the dick," she says, a smile on her face. "I see how it is." She shakes her head. "Come on, you've gotta get back to class. The girls are already headed back." She shrinks down and lands on my head. "Now onward my steed!"</p><p>I roll my eyes at her antics, but as I leave the bathroom and head to class, I'm unable to stop smiling.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AN: So not long after the last chapter I came up with a way to have a more detailed character sheet available to you guys. I have a Google Drive folder where each chapter I'll drop the end-of-chapter character sheet in there and you can look at it. It includes stats, inventory, skills, relationship tracker, traits/perks, and the page I use for calculating damage because all those multipliers make it hard to keep track of. Anyway, this is the link to that.</p><p>https://tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>I'll include that link at the bottom of every chapter, and it's on my FF profile and in the informational threadmarks on QQ.</p><p>So this chapter is shorter than it originally was going to be. But some last-minute changes made the last scene an unexpectedly good stopping point, the chapter is at 12k, and I can shift things slightly to have a good amount of content for the next chapter too. Also, I just like uploading on the weekends, and waiting would probably push this back to Monday at the earliest.</p><p>This does mean not as much happened in this chapter as I would've liked, but hopefully next chapter will make up for it. It took a while, but the plot is due to arrive soon.</p><p>Sorry if you wanted to see Axton sparring with the Student Council. I went to write it and realized that, well, I just didn't want to. It'd just be Axton showing off in a boring fashion and I had zero motivation to write that. So rather than struggle to get it out and extend both the length of this chapter and the time it takes me to release it with something that would end up kinda shitty anyways, I just skimmed over it. The only thing I regret skipping over is showcasing the fighting styles of the Student Council members, but there's a chance for me to do that down the line that will be better suited for it. This chapter has a lot going on already anyway, and the scene after it is the only reason I brought up the training in the first place.</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. DxD: Recruitment Week 05</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-Tweaked [Void Blood] a little to make it more balanced by adding a status effect that happens after it's used.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Afterschool finds me wandering around Kuoh, shopping at various stores. I didn't notice at the time, but while I was busy during lunch, Ruruko texted me, asking if she could come over to my place tonight to 'hang out'. I immediately texted her back saying that yes, I would love to have her over, and when classes ended I immediately went into town to buy some stuff.</p><p>Kyu is with me in her full form and disguised as a human. Her normally pink hair is now brown and she's wearing a normal outfit.</p><p>"You know what tonight's good for?" Kyu says as we shop.</p><p>"What's that?" I reply.</p><p>"A new romance quest!" she says excitedly, and a window appears in front of me.</p><p><strong>New Quest!<br/>Ruruko's Awakening<br/>Objective: Discover one of Ruruko's fetishes that even she doesn't know about<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Objective: Discover both fetishes<br/></strong> <strong>Reward: 1000 Hunie, 1 Lewd Skill Gem<br/></strong> <strong>Bonus Reward: 1000 Hunie, 1 Lewd Skill Gem</strong></p><p>"Oh? Do you know something I don't?" I ask.</p><p>"Not me, technically," she replies. "The Game is pretty omniscient though, and it picks up on things. I know now though since I looked at the quest."</p><p>"I see," I say. "Well, searching for that should spice things up tonight."</p><p>As we're buying snacks Kyu speaks up again. "You know, I kinda wanted to ask this when Aika and Atsuko came over, but why are you just buying snacks instead of wow-ing them with the [Cooking] skill?"</p><p>"Because I don't have a cooking skill?" I answer as I grab a bottle of soda.</p><p>She rolls her eyes. "No, but you <em>do </em>have that Crafting Skill Gem that's been sitting in your inventory for almost a week now." I blink. Oh right, I forgot about that. She glares at me. "You totally forgot you had it didn't you."</p><p>"Of course not," I deny, looking away. "I was just waiting for a good chance to use it."</p><p>"Uh-huh," she says, not buying it. Ignoring her, I go ahead and use the gem now.</p><p><strong>Crafting Skill Gem used<br/></strong> <strong>Please pick a crafting skill<br/></strong> <strong>Blacksmithing<br/></strong> <strong>Brewing<br/></strong> <strong>Construction<br/></strong> <strong>Cooking<br/></strong> <strong>Enchanting<br/></strong> <strong>Fletching<br/></strong> <strong>Jewelcrafting<br/></strong> <strong>Scribing<br/></strong> <strong>Tailoring<br/></strong> <strong>Wardcrafting</strong></p><p>I notice some interesting new additions to the list, and a couple of them are tempting. But I ignore them for now. I make a mental note to clear more dungeons and choose the [Cooking] skill.</p><p><strong>[Cooking] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Use ingredients to prepare edibles dishes. Gives instinctual knowledge of cooking.</strong></p><p>"In that case, we have more stops to make," I say to Kyu. "Come on, we'll have to speed things up."</p><p>"Can we stop by the sex toy store too?" she asks.</p><p>"Of course we're stopping by the sex toy store," I say. "That's our next stop."</p><p>"Hells yeah," she says. "Hurry up and pay, we've got more interesting things to do."</p><p>I roll my eyes but finish getting what I needed from here quickly.</p><p>-x-</p><p>I step away from my cooking and look at my phone, which just went off. I open it to find a text from Ruruko saying that she'll be here soon. I send her back a quick reply and start cleaning up the massive mess I made while cooking. The results were totally worth it though.</p><p>
  <strong>Chicken Skewers<br/>Chicken marinated in a sweet sauce, fried on a grill, and shoved onto a convenient stick. +5% SP regen for 1 hour</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>American Cheeseburger<br/>Bread, cheese, meat, and some veggies for texture. +5% Health Regen, +5% Damage for 4 hours</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Karaage<br/>Bite-sized fried chicken, 6 pieces per serving. +5% Fire damage for 4 hours</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Omurice<br/>Fried rice wrapped in fried egg. +10% HP regen for 3 hours</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Shrimp Tempura<br/>Shrimp fried in batter. 5 pieces per serving. +5% resistance to Water and Fire for 2 hours</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sushi Roll<br/>Fish and veggies rolled in rice and seaweed. 6 pieces per serving. +10% swimming speed and +5% MP regen for 2 hours</strong>
</p><p>The chicken skewers were the first thing I tried to make, a recreation of the food I bought on my first day here. Mine didn't turn out quite as tasty since I was mostly just guessing on the sauce, but my version did give me a buff, which is what I was hoping for when I picked up the [Cooking] skill.</p><p>Out of all the things I made, the sushi is probably my go-to item. In terms of the cost of ingredients and the time it takes to make it, it gives me by far the most XP and the minor MP regen it offers is nice.</p><p>I made a handful of servings of each one, which rocketed up the level of my cooking skill.</p><p><strong>[Cooking] - Level 40(10%)<br/></strong> <strong>Use ingredients to prepare edibles dishes. Gives instinctual knowledge of cooking and how dishes you eat are made.</strong></p><p>The skill updated at level 25, confirming that all the crafting skills got better at certain milestones. I tried out the new aspect of the skill on some snack food, and it was like the recipe was beamed into my mind. Unfortunately that 'recipe' involved a lot of mass production industrial equipment, so not very useful for that one. Still, it'd be nice down the road, especially if I eat anywhere fancy.</p><p>I stash all the food in my inventory since time doesn't pass in there and the food will remain fresh.</p><p>I freeze at the thought. Time doesn't pass? So maybe…</p><p>I pull out 3 of the 210 Despair throwing knives I have. I've been itching to use them, but it's always been better to just rush the enemies or use [Void Beam] if I needed to stay at range. [Void Edge] gave them enough of a buff for them to become <em>very</em> good, but coating each one costs 1000 MP, the same cost as 1 second of [Void Beam], which does more damage.</p><p>I coat each of the three knives in [Void Edge] and immediately put one of them into my inventory. At my current level, the buff lasts for 580 seconds or just under 10 minutes. While I let the other two knives sit on the table, I finish cleaning up.</p><p>A few minutes after applying the buffs, I stash a second knife into my inventory, leaving just one buffed knife left out.</p><p>As I finish cleaning up, I notice [Void Edge] blank out on the knife still sitting on the table. I immediately pull both of the other knives I had put the buff on. Both of them still have it. I grin and let it sit to make sure. The one that I didn't put away immediately blinks out a few minutes later, but the one I immediately stashed lasts for the full duration before the buff ends.</p><p>This means I can buff all of my throwing knives and keep them in my inventory for use at any time. Buffing all 210 of them will take some time, but it's more than worth the trouble. With me pulling them directly from my inventory and my DEX being what it is, I can throw several of them a second. And as knives, they also have the 3x Critical Hit multiplier. Which is doubled by my Hornet's Ring. Altogether they are now one of my strongest methods of attack.</p><p>A knock on my door pulls me back into reality. Right, hang out with Ruruko now, efficiently mow down enemies later. I'll just apply [Void Edge] to them during class tomorrow, I shouldn't need them before then.</p><p>I open the door to find Ruruko there in her school uniform still. "Hey there beautiful," I say and I pull her into a hug and kiss her deeply, making sure to use [Erotic Pierrot], [Touch of Pleasure], and [Increase Sensitivity]. I'm almost certain she came here to have sex with me tonight, and I want to give her every reason to do so.</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Ruruko Nimura</strong>
</p><p>She leans into the kiss, but I pull back before things get too heavy. We're still on the walkway in front of my door, not inside of my room. "Let's move this inside, yeah?" I say.</p><p>"You don't want your neighbors watching you kiss a beautiful girl like me?" Ruruko says teasingly even as she follows me into my entryway.</p><p>"I'm afraid they'll all get jealous and try to take you away from me," I banter back. She laughs as she takes off her shoes, and we walk together into the living room. As we do, I use [Lewd Scouter] on her, the quest Kyu gave me about her fresh in my mind.</p><p><strong>Ruruko Nimura<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 92<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Kissing, ?, ?</strong></p><p>Interesting. The only other time I've seen question marks in someone's fetish list is when Kyu tried to hide one of hers from me. Perhaps it's because I have a quest to discover them?</p><p>"It smells pretty good in here," Ruruko comments.</p><p>"I just did some cooking earlier," I say as we enter the living room. "Here, try some," I offer her as I pull out a plate of karaage and put it on the coffee table in front of the couch.</p><p>"Oooh," she says. "Don't mind if I do." She grabs one with her hand and pops it into her mouth.</p><p>"That's pretty good Axton," she says, impressed. "If you can cook this well why don't you bring your own lunches to school?"</p><p>"Laziness, mostly," I say as I sit down on the couch. Ruruko sits down next to me, taking another karaage. "But every now and then I'll cook a bunch and store it in my inventory to keep it fresh. I can't exactly pull out freshly cooked food out of nowhere at school though. Until recently that is, since I can do that in the Student Council room or the Occult Research Club room."</p><p>Ruruko leans into me and I put an arm around her shoulders. "If you bring enough for everyone you'll have a lot of fans," she comments.</p><p>"I'll have to do that sometime soon then," I reply.</p><p>We spend some time like that, just chatting about things while cuddling. I make sure to slowly raise her arousal with [Erotic Pierrot]. My hand slowly travels from her shoulder down to her waist, which she responds to by snuggling closer to me.</p><p>"So Ruruko," I say once her arousal is at moderate. "Did you have anything specific in mind when you asked to come over today?"</p><p>"Not really," she says, but I can tell it's a lie. "I just wanted to relax a bit and do whatever."</p><p>"Do 'whatever', huh?" I ask in a teasing tone. "Does that include more kissing? You seemed to enjoy that a lot last night."</p><p>"It could," she says, her tone somewhere between flirty and nervous. "It could also include a bit more."</p><p>"A bit more?" I ask with feigned confusion. "What do you mean by that?" I lean in and whisper in her ear. "Please, tell me exactly what 'a bit more' entails."</p><p>[Lewd Scouter] is great for telling me roughly how aroused someone is, but it's not very specific, and [Erotic Pierrot] lets me change that value, but it doesn't provide a value of their current arousal. Not directly at least. There's some small amount of feedback on how easy or hard it is to use. Raising someone's arousal when they weren't very aroused is a lot easier than raising when they're extremely aroused. There's a subtle sense of pressure I get when I use the skill that correlates with that, and after using it so much on so many different girls, and combined with [Pericognition], which passively helps me make connections and figure things out, I could get a pretty precise guess to how aroused someone was while I'm using [Erotic Pierrot] on them.</p><p>So when she blushes I can tell her arousal spikes up just a bit. Was it because I whispered in her ear? Or because I asked her to do something embarrassing? Or is it just because she's imagining that 'more'?</p><p>"I know last night I said I wasn't ready for more," Ruruko starts. "But I think I was, and I was just nervous. When I got home I-" She cuts herself off, and I feel her arousal spike just a little bit more. "Well, I regretted it."</p><p>She was clearly going to say something else. I decide to listen to my gut, and I push her on that a little bit. "Regretted it how?" I ask. "Did something happen to make you realize you actually wanted to do more?" I move my hand from her waist to the bottom of her stomach, gently rubbing the area right above her crotch. "Maybe something physical?"</p><p>Her arousal spikes up again, way more than it did before, which means I'm on the right track. "Yes, it did," she admits, her voice a little husky.</p><p>"Tell me more," I order her. Another spike of arousal. [Lewd Scouter] shows her at high arousal now, and feedback I'm getting from [Erotic Pierrot] is getting hard to sense. I keep rubbing her lower stomach.</p><p>"I-," she starts before swallowing. "I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of it last night. About me and you…" she trails off.</p><p>"About me and you doing what?" I prompt her.</p><p>"I kept fantasizing about us having sex," she admits.</p><p>"Just fantasizing about it?" I ask. "Or did that lead to something else?"</p><p>She hesitates, but she seems to gather her determination and answers. "I masturbated while thinking about us having sex."</p><p>"Good girl," I whisper into her ear, and her arousal spikes again. That pretty much confirms it for me, her first secret fetish has to be being ordered. Sure enough, [Lewd Scouter] shows 'Submission' as her second fetish.</p><p>"Come sit on my lap, facing me," I tell her. She does so, equal parts nervous and excited, and I look at her as she straddles me. "Now, I want you to do something for me. Show me how you masturbated last night."</p><p>Her eyes widen, most likely not having expected that command, but she nods. From her position of straddling me, she reaches down with one hand and lifts up her skirt slightly, giving me a glimpse of her blue and white striped panties, slightly damp due to her own arousal.</p><p>I use [Increase Sensitivity] on her again, increasing it by as much as I can at my current skill level, and she lets out a high pitched moan as she runs her finger along her length over her panties. She blushes harder, surprised at both the intensity of the feeling and the noise she let out, but I just smile at her encouragingly.</p><p>She continues rubbing herself, tracing a line up and down her slit. Her breath is heavy, and occasionally she lets out more moans of pleasure. Her panties quickly become soaked in her own juices, and the fabric clings tightly to her folds. I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and place my hands on her upper thighs between the bottom of her skirt and the tops of her socks. She pauses at my touch.</p><p>"Don't mind me," I say. "Keep going." She nods and goes back to rubbing herself even as I run my thumb in small circles on the inside of her thighs.</p><p>"Is this how you masturbated?" I ask after another few moments. "Rubbing yourself over your panties?"</p><p>She pauses before shaking her head. "Only at first."</p><p>"Show me what you did next then," I command. "I want to see everything."</p><p>She shivers, but any sense of hesitation is gone as she starts to embrace the scenario. She takes off the black overcoat part of her school uniform and unbuttons her white shirt, exposing a thin slice of smooth and creamy skin, broken only by a blue and white striped bra to match her panties.</p><p>With one hand she reaches into her shirt and pushes her bra up so she can grope herself and pinch her nipple. Her other hand goes down to below her skirt again, pulling it up more so she can stick her hand into her panties and touch herself directly.</p><p>I make a small tsk with my tongue, and she pauses. "Didn't you hear me?" I say. "I said I want to see everything. I can't see very much like this, can I?"</p><p>Understanding dawns over her face and I feel her arousal spike just a little bit higher. "Sorry Sir," she says, and I wonder if she realizes how she addressed me. She takes her shirt and bra off completely, leaving her small and cute boobs exposed, her nipples hard.</p><p>She reaches down to take her skirt off but pauses. "I'll have to get up to take this off," she says, obviously hesitant to do anything she hasn't been told to do.</p><p>"I'll take care of it," I reassure her, and store both her skirt and her panties in my inventory, leaving her in only her thigh high socks on my lap, dripping wet pussy on full display. I look into her eyes, and I don't need my skills to tell me that she's extremely aroused right now. "Now, continue until the end."</p><p>Her hands go back to where they were before, one pinching her nipple and the other at her wet slit. She pushes a finger into herself and lets out a keening moan. I smile, and place my hands on her hips, [Touch of Pleasure] still active. She shivers and starts to plunge her finger in and out of her pussy as she tweaks her nipple, moaning the entire time.</p><p>I start running my fingers lightly up and down her sides, going from the bottom of her rib cage down to the tops of her socks. In response, she adds another finger and increases the speed at which she's thrusting them inside of her. She's going fast enough that a wet sound can be heard as she fingers herself.</p><p>"Are you close?" I ask her, still lightly tracing my fingers up and down her side. She nods, unable, or unwilling, to talk between her heavy breathing and moans.</p><p>"Then cum," I order her. "Cum for me."</p><p>She speeds up her movements to a frantic pace before she tips over the edge and cums. Her back arches as she lets out her loudest moan yet, two fingers buried inside of her pussy up to their second digit and she's pinching her nipple hard enough that I'm worried about it bruising.</p><p>She holds that position for a moment, shaking and twitching as her orgasm washes over her. Finally, she slumps down, her chest against mine and her chin on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her and gently hold her.</p><p>"That's it, good girl. That was beautiful," I say as she catches her breath.</p><p>"What- what was that?" Ruruko asks, breathing heavily. "It didn't feel nearly that good last night."</p><p>"Self-pleasure is a great thing," I say. "But it doesn't compare to what you can feel with the aid of others. Even if that aid is as indirect as mine was just now." Also, sex magic, but I was keeping quiet about that. "Were you aware that you get off on being ordered before just now?"</p><p>"Sort of?" she says, her voice a lot more steady now. She sits up a little but keeps her face close to mine. "Not really, but in hindsight...a lot of my fantasizing pretty clearly focused on that."</p><p>Considering Kyu's quest, I couldn't let a line like that pass by without comment. "Anything else that's sticking out now that you're a little more aware?"</p><p>She pauses. "Spanking?" she guesses. "I'm not sure. I've never been spanked, not even as a kid when I got in trouble. But...I'm curious. I'm really curious."</p><p>"We'll try that out in a bit then," I say. "But there's one thing that comes first."</p><p>She looks at me questioningly. "What's that?"</p><p>I suddenly stash all of my clothes into my inventory, leaving me completely naked. My erection, no longer trapped, springs upwards. Ruruko's eyes widen at my sudden nakedness, especially as she looks down to see me.</p><p>"Watching you masturbate got me so unbelievably horny," I say truthfully. "Now I need you to get me off, however you want to do it."</p><p>She's still staring at my cock. "However I want?" she confirms.</p><p>I nod. "So long as I cum, I'll be satisfied."</p><p>She takes a deep breath and finally looks back up at me. "I'm ready," she says. "I'm more than ready." She leans forward and locks her lips with mine, moving forward on my lap to be closer to me as she does so. I feel my erection press against the soft flesh of her stomach while her nipples and small boobs push into my chest as her arms wrap around my neck.</p><p>Our tongues dance over one another as we frantically kiss, the both of us horny and hungry for more. Finally, she breaks off our kiss for a moment, breathing heavily once more. She locks her eyes on me and places her hands on my shoulders to brace herself as she slowly raises her hips up and positions the head of my cock at her dripping entrance. I can feel the sensitive skin at the tip of my penis gently split her lower lips, instantly becoming soaked with her arousal.</p><p>She leans down to kiss me again, and as our lips lock together, she pushes my full length inside of her in one go.</p><p>If I thought the moan she made when she orgasmed earlier was loud, the noise of pleasure she makes when she impaled herself on me blew it out of the water. Her moan is loud and drawn out, and her nails dig into my shoulders as she cums just from that.</p><p>As pleasurable as the feeling of her hot and tight walls convulsing around me is, it's not enough for me to reach orgasm. And I haven't forgotten the scenario I've set up.</p><p>"Did you just cum from putting it in?" I ask her once she finishes her orgasm. She nods tiredly. "That's strange," I muse. She looks at me, confused. "I thought I told you to make <em>me</em> cum, not cum yourself. I don't remember giving you permission to do that."</p><p>Her eyes widen slightly and she opens her mouth, but before she can say anything my hand moves from her waist to her ass, and I deliver a sharp open-handed smack on the juiciest part of her cheek.</p><p>Whatever she was going to say is lost as she yelps instead, shocked by the sudden sting. I also feel her tighten around me, but I'm not sure if that's due to arousal, or just clenching up in response to pain. I [Observe] her quickly to make sure that didn't do any HP damage, and it didn't. Good. My stats are quite a bit higher than hers, but it seems like the Fragile World perk is working as it should and making sure I don't hit any harder than I want to.</p><p>Although, now that I think about it, [Increase Sensitivity] is still active on full blast, which probably made that smack feel a lot harder than it was.</p><p>"A little softer," she says. I nod and reapply [Increase Sensitivity] at half the strength it was before. I then repeat the spank on her other cheek. She yelps again, but it turns a little into a moan at the end. "Better," she confirms.</p><p>I check her with [Lewd Scouter], and 'Spanking' has appeared on her fetish list. Perfect. I quickly dismiss the quest completion screen that pops up. Behind her back, I pull the Lewd Skill Gems out of my inventory and immediately use both of them to gain two more skills.</p><p><strong>[Alter Fertility] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Increase or decrease a target's fertility for 1 hour.</strong></p><p><strong>[Alter Flavor] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Changes the taste of the target's bodily fluids to any imagined flavor for 1 hour.</strong></p><p>"Good," I say as I use [Alter Fertility] to lower her fertility, more just to level the skill up than out of an attempt to not get her pregnant. For the same reason, I use [Imbue Elasticity] on her, I need that one at a higher level for when I finally have sex with Kyu. And while I'm at it, I use [Alter Flavor] on myself, turning the flavor of my semen to vanilla.</p><p>"Now that you've had two orgasms," I say to her in a somewhat stern voice, "I expect you to work hard to bring me to climax. Is that clear?"</p><p>"Yes Sir," she says. She relaxes a little and once again embraces me, pushing her chest against mine. She starts to bounce up and down on my lap, her nipples drawing lines on my chest as she moans into my ear. I plant kisses on her neck and my hands sink into her soft butt cheeks as I grab them.</p><p>Every so often I buck my hips upwards and give her a quick slap on the rear, which makes her moans oh so sweetly directly into my ear. With each spank, she grows tighter and her movements get faster.</p><p>I feel the pressure build up and don't bother holding back. I buck upwards a few times and then thrust deep into her and stay there as I climax, filling her with my semen. She lets out a soft noise of satisfaction as I fill her up.</p><p>She slumps slightly, breathing heavily as she relaxes on me. "Wow," she breathes. "That was amazing."</p><p>"Was?" I ask in a teasing tone. "Oh Ruruko, we've just gotten started."</p><p>"Wha-" she starts, but I interrupt her by standing up, still holding her, and bring her up with me before I gently set her down face-up on the coffee table, all while still inside of her. I position her legs so that each one is on one of my shoulders, and before she can say anything else I start thrusting into her again.</p><p>Ruruko likes it rough, but let's see just how long she can last.</p><p>Slightly over an hour later finds me sitting on my bed, both hands on Ruruko's head and pushing her deeper onto my cock as I cum for the ninth time. She dutifully makes sure she swallows it all, even as her fingers work away at her pussy. She brings herself to her own orgasm even as she twirls her tongue around my shaft, leaving it spotless.</p><p>I'm truly impressed, and also a little scared. I don't think even Aika could have kept up that same level of energy for an hour of one on one sex. Ruruko looks a little tired, but also willing to go a few more rounds.</p><p>I finally start to soften though, and she finishes cleaning my cock, making sure to visibly swallow.</p><p>"Open your mouth," I tell her, and she obeys, giving me a clear view of the inside of her mouth, clear of any semen. I smile down at her. "Good girl."</p><p>I pull her up onto the bed next to me as I lay down, leaving the two of us facing each other while laying on our sides.</p><p>She smiles at me, tired but happy and content. "I thought Momo was exaggerating when she said how long you could go," Ruruko says. "But instead, it feels like she undersold it."</p><p>My CON has risen quite a bit since the last time I slept with Momo, so she probably got it exactly right, and instead, I'm the one who's gained so much more stamina in such a short time. Though it's interesting to me that Momo is talking in such detail about my ability in bed, she doesn't seem like the type. I'm grateful though. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" I ask. "You seemed like you still had energy left so I kept going, but you've got to be sore."</p><p>"I actually feel pretty good," she says. "Tired, and a little sore, but it's drowned out by this fuzzy feeling of pleasure that's still lingering."</p><p>"That's good," I say. She yawns, and I chuckle at her before I yawn as well. Despite Gamer's Body and a lack of a need for sleep, yawns are still contagious it seems. "It feels a little late to ask this, but do you need to get home tonight?"</p><p>She shakes her head and scooches closer to me and wraps her arms around me. "Nope. I told my parents that I'd be staying at Sona's tonight. I do that often enough that they believe it."</p><p>"You really are a naughty girl, aren't you?" I ask with a laugh. I wrap my arms around her, and I can feel her breathing slow down. "But you're my naughty girl now."</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/>Perk rewarded for 100 Affection with Ruruko Nimura<br/>[Behind Enemy Lines] - 25% increase to all stats when in enemy territory</strong>
</p><p>Nice. Enemy territory was a little vague as far as conditions go, but it's a nice little free boost.</p><p>"Hmm," Ruruko says, obviously falling asleep. "Axton's naughty little girl. I like that…" she trails off, and in moments she's asleep.</p><p>I grab the blanket from behind me and drape it over the two of us. Wrapped up in her arms as I am, there's no way I'm getting out of bed without waking her up, which means no grinding in the dungeon tonight.</p><p>I settle in and let myself start to drift off. No grinding is fine. I'll choose falling asleep in the embrace of a beautiful girl while we're both naked over killing undead in a musty dungeon any day of the week.</p><hr/><p>The morning after I woke up to find Ruruko already showered and dressed, telling me she had to get to school early for some Student Council business. I kissed her goodbye and then went about my day as normal.</p><p>During lunch, I enter the Occult Research Club room and I'm not at all surprised to find Yua there along with Rias and her Peerage. I haven't had to feed Yua during lunch at all this week since she always ends up here at that time and ends up being fed by the people here. Usually Koneko.</p><p>All of them are here today though, barring Gasper, who I haven't been introduced to yet. I did find the room where he stays in though with [Void Detect], but I decided against trying to intrude. I'll meet him eventually, and I have just the potion to offer him when I do.</p><p>"Axton!" Rias greets me cheerily from where she was sitting behind a large ornate desk. "I'm glad you decided to join us for lunch today."</p><p>"I said I'd come when I had the time, didn't I?" I say as I sit down on one of the central couches, where Kiba and Koneko are sitting. "I would've been here yesterday for lunch, but something came up that I had to take care of sooner rather than later."</p><p>I look around. Rias has a bento box in front of her on her desk and a small stack of papers to the side. I don't have a good angle on them, so I can't tell exactly what it is, but it looks like some sort of letter, or maybe a report?</p><p>Koneko and Kiba also have bentos in their hands, though there's also a plate of baked sweets in front of Koneko that she pulls slightly closer to herself as I notice it. I smile at her, trying to reassure her that I won't try to take any, but she doesn't react. Akeno is nowhere to be found, and a quick [Void Detect] doesn't notice her anywhere near.</p><p>Yua was on Koneko's lap when I came in, but as I sit down she sprints over and settles on mine, purring as I scratch her behind her ears.</p><p>"Do you need anything to eat?" Rias asks. "Name a type of food or dish you want to eat, and we can provide it in no time at all."</p><p>"I appreciate the offer, but no thanks," I reply. "For once, I actually brought my own food. And since I'm eating here, I can do this." As I speak, I pull one of the cheeseburgers I made last night out of my inventory. It's on a small plate, like all of the food I have in my inventory, whether or not it's food that has to be plated.</p><p>The three of them look on in mild surprise as I pull a cheeseburger out of thin air, and their eyes widen slightly as the smell reaches them, Koneko especially.</p><p>"Is that still fresh?" Kiba asks.</p><p>"Like I just got it off the grill," I confirm. "Time doesn't move in my inventory, so I can have freshly cooked meals whenever I want."</p><p>"Your Sacred Gear is useful in the most unexpected ways," Kiba notes. I nod in agreement, despite knowing that it's not a Sacred Gear.</p><p>As I turn my attention back to my food I notice Koneko staring at it, desire clear in her eyes. Thankfully I half expected this and I came prepared. I casually place another cheeseburger onto the table and slide it over to her. She looks up at me, and I just nod at her unspoken question.</p><p>She eagerly picks up the cheeseburger and takes a bite of it.</p><p>
  <strong>+14 Affection with Koneko Toujo</strong>
</p><p>I barely notice as she quickly devours the rest of it. Koneko Toujo? Didn't the game identify her as Shirone? I quickly [Observe] her and that screen says Koneko as well, despite it definitely calling her Shirone before.</p><p>Without knowing how the Game chooses what name it displays, I can only guess why her name is different now. I don't think it has anything to do with me, or at least I can't think of anything that I might've done to have changed it. Perhaps it's something to do with her then? A sign that she's struggling with her past and her identity?</p><p>I don't have any way of confirming that right now, but I'll keep it in mind.</p><p>Bringing my attention back to the present, I notice Koneko looking at the now empty plate. Her expression is flat, but I can tell that she's sad that there isn't any left and that she wants more.</p><p>I have burgers to spare, so I take another one out and slide it over to her again.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Koneko Toujo</strong>
</p><p><strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Koneko Toujo<br/></strong> <strong>[Kemonomimi Lover] - Increases Affection gain with beings that resemble humans with animal-like features</strong></p><p>Koneko looks at me and it's hard to tell, but there's a small smile on her face. Then she turns her attention back to the burger and starts eating it. She eats it slower this time as if savoring it. The burgers were the last thing I cooked last night, which meant that they benefited the most from my [Cooking] skill.</p><p>I notice both Kiba and Rias looking on, mild surprise on their face. "Do either of you want one?" I offer. "I have a few more." Five more to be precise, not counting the one I plan on eating.</p><p>They both accept one. I'm slightly disappointed that I don't get Affection from either of them for it, but I suppose food just isn't as important to them. They do like it though and compliment my cooking.</p><p>Koneko finishes her burger, and I watch her to see how she feels, wondering if I should offer her another. But she seems satisfied and stacks the plates on top of each other. I watch her as she hesitates, before she carefully picks out one of the sweets she has, a simple shortbread cookie, and places it on the top plate. She hesitates for a moment, and then picks up another one and places it on the plate as well, before pushing the plates back over to me.</p><p>"For me?" I ask her, surprised. She nods. "Thank you," I say. I fight back the temptation to pat her head, unsure if 50 Affection is enough for her to be okay with that. Instead, I accept her offer and eat the cookie.</p><p>"Can you make sweets too?" she asks, speaking for the first time since I arrived.</p><p>"Yes I can," I say confidently as my [Cooking] skill kicks in and I learn how to make the very cookie that I'm eating. "Do you know how to make them?"</p><p>"No," she shakes her head, before tilting it. "Is it hard?"</p><p>"Depends on what you want to make," I answer. "Some of the fancier sweets are tricky, but something like this cookie you gave me is pretty easy. I could teach you how if you want."</p><p>She pauses at my offer, mulling it over. I get the sense that the concept of making her own sweets hadn't really ever occurred to her before. Finally, she nods. "I wanna learn." It's subtle, but there's an excitement in her eyes.</p><p><strong>+8 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>+6 Affection with Yuuto Kiba</strong></p><p>"That sounds like a great idea!" Rias says, joining the conversation. "We have a pretty good kitchen at our home, you can come over some time and use it to teach her. Or you could even do it here, there's a little kitchen right through that door." She indicates a door leading deeper into the building.</p><p>I nod at the suggestion. "I'll figure out when I have some free time and we'll set that up."</p><p>The rest of lunch passes in idle chatter, but I don't miss the small smile on Koneko's face.</p><hr/><p>Despite my sensory skills such as [Void Detect], [Sound Domain], and [Observe], my natural sense for magic and supernatural occurrences is relatively unrefined. I have the capability of it thanks to my high WIS score, but it's a sense I'm still getting used to, and one that I usually ignore in favor of my other skills.</p><p>But it's more than enough to sense the powerful figure that suddenly appears somewhere in the school shortly before classes end. I tense up when I feel it, wondering who is here as I try to figure out where they appeared. The precise distance is hard to tell, but the direction...that should be the Student Council Room. Which is outside the range of my skills, excepting [Void Sight], which I'm tempted but also hesitant to use.</p><p>So far, my magic is undetectable to the people I've come across thanks to my Void Touched Trait, but I haven't tested how complete that is. And using it to spy on such a powerful person strikes me as too risky of an idea.</p><p>I sit tense, waiting for a fight or something to break out as I think over who it could possibly be. Nothing happens though, leading me to think that it's most likely Serafall. My detection skills are a lot better than they were last time I saw her, and she's the one most likely to teleport into the Student Council Room during school hours. So I relax slightly as the bell rings, signaling the end of classes.</p><p>I had planned on spending the evening with Atsuko and Aika, but this required investigation, and if it is Serafall there, I didn't want to pass up the chance to gain some more Affection with her. So I say my goodbyes to them and head for the Student Council room, sensory skills up and active.</p><p>As I approach the room I realize that it's definitely not Serafall in there. [Void Detect] gives me little more than a 3D mapping of the person and a sense of people and magic, which isn't useful for identifying people I've only seen as two dimensional animated characters. If they're distinctive I can make a guess, but seeing them works much better.</p><p>The powerful magic is definitely coming from a man in the room that I don't recognize. Is this Sirzechs then? No, Sirzechs has long hair and this person doesn't. Perhaps Sona's father? I don't remember what he looks like.</p><p>Turning my attention to the others in the room, I notice that they're a little tense, but not overly so. So whoever it is at least neutral, or possibly an ally.</p><p>I arrive at the Student Council room. There's a ward over the door, but it's one I recognize as one that keeps away mundane humans. Sona showed it to me after I provisionally joined the Student Council, and showed me how to activate it as well. Ignoring it, I open the door and enter the room.</p><p>Once I see him, I immediately recognize who it is. Azazel, leader of the Grigori family and de facto leader of the Fallen Angel faction was not even in my top five list of suspects, but there he is, turning around to look at me as I enter the room.</p><p><strong>Azazel<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Fallen Angel<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 4203<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 107800 (1078 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 509950 (5099.5 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 128240 (1282.4 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 2156<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 3206<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 5465<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 7285<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 5854<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 4985<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 541</strong></p><p>He's even stronger than Serafall, at least in terms of Level. His HP is lower though, by too large of an amount to just be the difference in stats. His hidden modifiers must be different than hers.</p><p>"Interesting," he says. "No presence at all."</p><p>"Hello," I greet him, ignoring his comment and feigning like I don't recognize him. "I didn't know we were going to have a guest today."</p><p>Sona sighs, but I can tell she's a little nervous. "It was a last-minute arrangement," she explains. "I'm glad you came though, as this actually pertains to you. Axton, meet Azazel, leader of the Fallen Angels that attacked you last week."</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions Perk Activated<br/>+25 Affection with Azazel</strong>
</p><p>Nice to see that in action. 25 Affection was where people started being friendly rather than just polite, so starting there with such a powerful person was extremely helpful.</p><p>"Terrible business that was," Azazel says. "Axton, was it? I do want to apologize for that, it should never have happened."</p><p>"How did it happen then?" I ask, though from the reports I saw, I know exactly how it happened. Kokabiel.</p><p>"There were some issues in the chain of command," he answers vaguely. "Some orders that shouldn't have gotten passed down did, in fact, get passed down. But we've rooted out the issue now, it shouldn't happen again."</p><p>"That's good to hear," I say, interpreting his answers in my head. Kokabiel was acting against the wishes of his superiors, and he had Raynare and the others here up to things that Azazel disapproved of. But he's been handled now. How he was handled isn't clear, but ultimately not important. "It would be a shame if they had killed someone who wasn't able to defend themselves."</p><p>"Yes, that could've been pretty bad," he agrees. "As it is, I have to thank you for only killing two of them."</p><p>I shrug. "One I captured so I could question them, and the other surrendered when I offered it. I'm more surprised you aren't upset about the two I killed."</p><p>He waves his hand dismissively. "They attacked an unknown while following orders they should have known they shouldn't follow, and you were defending yourself." He shrugs. "Most others in your situation would've killed them all without any hesitation. That you offered them a chance to surrender at all is appreciated."</p><p>"In that case, you're welcome," I answer, slightly uneasy. While I didn't expect any consequences from my actions, I didn't expect him to be so easy going about it either. Is that because of the 25 Affection? My gut is telling me no, that he'd say the same thing at zero Affection.</p><p>"I'm glad you're here though, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." He says, getting to business. "You read those documents you gave to Serafall, correct?"</p><p>"Those and a few less interesting ones, yes," I answer. "If you're looking for the list of stray Exorcists there, I'm afraid I don't have that one."</p><p>"No no no, that's not a problem," he denies. "I just wanted to make sure you had some context. Does the name Asia Argento ring a bell?"</p><p>"An excommunicated Nun with the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing that was offered a place with the Fallen Angels and was to be sent here two days ago," I answer, leaving out the part where they also sent a Sacred Gear Extractor to arrive yesterday. "I figured that wasn't happening after what happened." Which is a problem, considering I want Asia, but one I need more information or more connections to solve. Or maybe it's not?</p><p>Azazel waves his hand in a so-so manner. "Yes, sort of. There have been some complications. If you read those documents, I'm sure you can guess what the problem in the chain of command was."</p><p>"Kokabiel giving additional orders I'm guessing?" I say. "It didn't escape my notice that it was only his signature on the more violent orders."</p><p>"Correct," he says. "It was his plan to send Asia here, which I was initially fine with, thinking that she'd be safe far away from the Church since they have such a minimal presence here in Japan. However, when I discovered his true plans for her, this became less fine. Normally, I'd do what I did initially, and stop her from coming here. But while Kokabiel has been removed from the chain of command, he hasn't been apprehended. And it's come to my attention that there are a lot of people in my organization that are more loyal to him than me, and we're still in the middle of ferreting them out and cleaning house."</p><p>Shit, Kokabiel is free? If he knows that I'm the one that ratted him out and screwed up his plans that could be annoying. Depending on how fast he acts, I don't think I can level up fast enough to fight him directly. "That's less than ideal, but I'm not sure how that relates to Asia. Or me."</p><p>"I'm getting to that," he continues. "See, I can't trust Asia with someone if they might be loyal to Kokabiel, that would be the same as handing her directly to him. However, all the people I can trust are too busy to keep an eye on her, as am I. Not to mention that after some idiot explained what happened to her she's been understandably uncomfortable around Fallen. So she can't stay with us anymore.</p><p>"So when thinking of a place for her to go, I thought, why not still send her to Kuoh? The logic of it being far from the Church's grasp still applies, and now that we've pulled out, there's no Fallen either. Unfortunately, there's the issue of not wanting to leave her at the mercy of the Devils, but that's easily solved by you, the third party not strictly affiliated with anyone.</p><p>"So to make a long story short, I've come to ask you for a favor. Can you take care of her and watch over her for now? At least until we clean house, though I imagine she won't want to come back to us, and we won't force her to."</p><p>I stay silent a moment, processing all of that. "To summarize, the information I gave led to the reveal of a secret faction within the Fallen working towards goals that don't align with yours and ruined their plans, one of which involved Asia Argento, who you want me to watch over, despite the value of her Sacred Gear. Which would place an even bigger target on my back than the one already there just from ruining his plans."</p><p>"Oh it's not nearly that bad," Azazel dismisses. "Any Fallen presence here in Kuoh will stick out like a sore thumb now that the Satans have reworked the protections on this town, and I have my best man chasing down Kokabiel, so he won't be a problem for much longer."</p><p>Best man...Vali? He also trusts Baraqiel, Akeno's father, quite a bit, but I don't think he's stronger than Kokabiel. So it would have to be Vali. Admittedly, the fact that Vali, host of the counterpart of Atsuko's Sacred Gear, is the one hunting down Kokabiel is comforting, as is the news of the reworked wards.</p><p>"Okay, sure," I say. "That doesn't explain why you're just giving up on her though."</p><p>"Easy. It's because we've already lost her," he says with a shrug. "She's not comfortable around us, and if given a chance she would probably run away. Which is too easy for someone like Kokabiel to exploit. Plus, despite her excommunication from the Church, she's still quite pious. And that has caused some strife with some of the Fallen."</p><p>I can see how that would be an issue. If I remembered correctly, the Fallen in the anime had put on an act for Asia. Until Freed butchered a person for summoning a Devil anyway.</p><p>I don't want to fight too hard on this, I'll gladly watch over Asia. I was worried it was going to be difficult to find her and I'd have to assassinate Diodora or something. But I can't just give in that easily.</p><p>"And what does Asia think about all this?" I ask.</p><p>"She's already agreed," Azazel answers immediately. "In fact, she's already on a plane headed here."</p><p>"...plane?" I repeat, baffled. "Why is she flying in? Why not just teleport her?"</p><p>"She requested it actually," he said. "She wanted to see what international travel is like for a normal person."</p><p>"I see," I say. I know she led a pretty sheltered life, so that makes sense.</p><p>Azazel continues. "Plus, it's not like I'm asking you to do this for free. They're not ready quite yet, but I have a few gifts to give to you, both as an apology for the actions of my subordinates and as a payment for agreeing to this."</p><p>And there it is, my excuse for accepting. I sigh. "Alright, alright. I'll do it. If she's already on the way, I can't leave her hanging."</p><p>"Excellent!" Azazel says. "Trust me, you won't regret it. She's a real cutie too, so look forward to that." I see Sona frown at that last tidbit, but she doesn't speak up. "Anyways, here's her flight information and some other useful information." He hands me a manila envelope that I don't remember seeing him hold before, nor did I see him pull it out from somewhere. Without breaking eye contact, I stash it in my inventory. His grin just widens.</p><p>"In that case, I'll leave it in your capable hands," he continues. "Her flight lands in about half an hour, which should give you just enough time to get there to greet her when she lands." He turns to Sona. "Sitri, thank you once again for the meeting, and let your sister know I said hi."</p><p>With that, a magic circle appears beneath his feet, so similar yet so different to the ones used by the Devils, and he vanishes.</p><p>There's a moment of silence in the room as we all collectively catch our breath, both feeling relief at no longer being in the presence of someone so strong, and at being able to relax without a major figure for one of the three main factions being in the room.</p><p>"Well, looks like I'm headed to the airport then," I say. "Sorry girls, I guess I'll have to hang out some other time."</p><p>"The Kuoh Airport is just outside of town, and while it's not very big, the traffic around it can get pretty bad around this time of day," Sona says. "I'll teleport you there instead. We don't have much use for planes, but we do use them sometimes, so we have a spot set aside for teleporting there. You'll be able to catch a taxi back, or you can call one of us to teleport you." She looks at me with a serious expression. "Despite Azazel's laid back attitude, this is important. There are a lot of people that would want Twilight Healing, and her being unassociated with any of the factions right now is a big deal. Treat this carefully, and call me the instant something goes wrong."</p><p>"Understood," I say. Though I seriously doubt anything will happen.</p><p>…</p><p>It doesn't count as taunting Murphy if I don't say it out loud, right?</p><p>
  <strong>New Quest Added<br/>Nun Escort Mission<br/>Objective: Protect Asia Argento and get her safely home<br/>Secret Objective: ?<br/>Secret Objective: ?<br/>Reward: +15 Affection with Asia Argento, 2 Gacha Tokens, 2000 Hunie<br/>Secret Reward: ?<br/>Secret Reward: ?</strong>
</p><p>Shit.</p><hr/><p>[Fade], [Shadow Step], and [Spider Climb] make getting into the more restricted areas of the airport easy. Normally I wouldn't bother sneaking in and I would have just waited for her outside, but the quest had me on edge, so I decided to be more proactive and meet her at her gate. Which means sneaking past security.</p><p>My skills and speed make that easy though, and I'm sitting at the gate along with a handful of other people 15 minutes before Asia's flight is due to land. I've already checked everyone in here, and in fact every single person I saw on my way in, but I have yet to see anyone above level 1 or any suspicious names or stats.</p><p>I sit in silence, pretending to be waiting for another flight that's due to start boarding in an hour, using my detection abilities to my fullest. [Void Detect] and [Sound Domain] are both active, looking for anything suspicious, and I'm finally experimenting with [Void Sight].</p><p>[Void Sight] is both incredibly useful and not very useful. Unfortunately, I can't just point it at a person within range and get a vision of them, it's based purely on location. So I can easily view my home, where Kyu and Yua both are, and I can view the Student Council Room, where Sona and her peerage are. I can view any place I've been, and I can even shift my view to any place I can see with [Void Sight], meaning I can follow a path with repeated castings of [Void Sight] to just about anywhere. I can even use [Void Detect] where I'm using [Void Sight], though it seems the range is reduced. But this lets me get past walls and doors, so I'm able to scope out any part of the airport.</p><p>The further I got from my location though, the higher the cost per second is. I eat some of my sushi and down my singular Minor Regeneration Potion to boost my MP regeneration, but it's not enough and I have to spend several minutes total just waiting for my MP to refill. Thankfully, any place I've seen is a valid target for the skill and I don't have to retrace my steps again.</p><p>By the time Asia's flight lands, I've scoped out most of the airport and found nothing. So I turn my attention to the plane itself. It's not a large plane, but the flight details that Azazel had given me noted that she landed in Tokyo and took a connecting flight here to Kuoh, so a smaller plane makes sense for that. There were around forty total passengers, and I used [Observe] through [Void Sight] to check each of them. But Asia herself is the only one with a level above one.</p><p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 4<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 90<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 360<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 80<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 9<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 8<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 7<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 18<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 33<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 21<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 10</strong></p><p>The most surprising thing about her stats is her mana. She can heal mortal wounds with just 360 MP? Twilight Healing is either amazingly efficient or doesn't even use her MP.</p><p>I shake my head. Something to look into later. I've cleared the plane, including the pilots, the bathroom, and the cargo hold. I stop using [Void Sight] as I wait for her to disembark so my MP can recover. My other skills remain active though.</p><p>Asia is the last one off the plane, despite her sitting closer to the front. I'm sure she sat there and let everyone off before her. As she leaves and starts looking around I stand up and walk over to her.</p><p>"Asia Argento?" I ask, drawing her attention to me.</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions Perk Activated<br/>+10 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>Disappointingly low, but I'm sure I'll be able to boost it higher in no time, even without the Affection given by the Quest.</p><p>"Yes?" she asks, looking far too trusting.</p><p>"I'm Axton, I'm here to pick you up," I say. "They said you already agreed to stay with me?"</p><p>She smiles cheerfully and nods. "Yes! I wanted to come and thank you for what you did. Even if you weren't aware of it at the time, your actions ended up saving my life. So when Azazel offered to let me stay with you, I saw it as a sign from God, that He still has plans for me, and they somehow involve you."</p><p>"I see," I say. "Well, I'm glad to have you." I look around. "Come on, let's get going. You have luggage, correct?" She nods. "Let's go to baggage claim to pick it up then."</p><p>We walk side by side towards the right area. While we walked, I asked Asia some questions about herself, getting her to tell me things I already know about her so I don't have to pretend to not know certain things.</p><p>We arrive at baggage claim and wait patiently for her suitcase to arrive. I have my sensory skills active, but not [Void Sight], not wanting to spend the MP on it. But despite all that, it's my Danger Sense perk that alerts me first.</p><p>I suddenly spin, using [Void Drain] to block the incoming bullet made of light. Two more shots head directly for me, but I block both of them as well in the same way, draining them of most of their energy, so I barely take any damage.</p><p>Three shots are more than enough for me to identify the shooter, and I see him on the opposite side of the room.</p><p><strong>Freed Sellzen<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 56<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 1,640<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 300<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 2,680<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 82<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 134<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 201<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 15<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 11<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 7<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 14</strong></p><p>And here I thought I had skipped past this asshole. His expression is deranged and his smile is a twisted thing that makes his bloodlust clear. Seeing that the bullets are useless, he tosses aside the Light Gun and rushes at me.</p><p>It's at this point that the other people in the room start noticing what's happening, though they haven't started panicking yet.</p><p>"Asia, I need you to stay right here and call out to me if anyone approaches," I instruct her as I quickly equip my gear and draw my knives. Freed enters the range of [Void Detect] and I frown as I notice the two swords he has inside of his coat. One is a katana and the other is some sort of oddly shaped dagger. But most importantly they both pulse with a large amount of magical power.</p><p>"Wha-" Asia starts, but I'm off, rushing to meet Freed before he can get close to Asia. I don't know what his goal is, but it's better to make sure this fight doesn't happen too close to her.</p><p>Freed's grin widens as I approach, and he reaches into his coat to draw the katana within it, sheathe and all. He keeps running at me, but his hands are positioned to draw it quickly.</p><p>As we're about to clash, I use [Observe] on the blade.</p><p>
  <strong>Excalibur Rapidly<br/>One of the 7 fragments of True Excalibur. Triples the DEX of its wielder.</strong>
</p><p>Oh shit.</p><p>Freed's hand closes on the hilt of Rapidly and then he <em>blurs</em>. It's only my instincts that cause me to raise both knives to block his swing that would have taken my head off. I'm not sure how Gamer's Body would have handled that, and I have no desire to find out.</p><p>Freed cackles madly. "You actually blocked that? Good! I wouldn't want the fun to be over too quickly!"</p><p>I don't bother returning the banter and just send a [Void Beam] at him. He dodges it and swings again at me. Rather than blocking, I focus on dodging his swings.</p><p>By now, the people around us are starting to panic. I'm vaguely aware of them yelling and running away, though most of my attention is on the sword in front of me and the madman wielding it.</p><p>Freed with a tripled DEX is terrifying. My own DEX is only at 430 compared to his effective 603, and my fight with Kiba showed how much of an advantage you can have with a higher DEX, not to mention that Freed also had the advantage of experience and skill.</p><p>I focus on dodging and deflecting his blows as much as I can, but in many cases, I'm only able to reduce the blows, and he slowly starts to whittle my health down with cuts and glancing blows. This only makes him more manic though.</p><p>"I can <em>feel</em> my blade cutting you," he spits out. "Why aren't you <em>bleeding</em>?!"</p><p>I continue to ignore him. I can't keep up at this rate, his pace isn't giving me time to use any of my skills, and while I heal quickly, the speeds we're fighting at mean that even two percent of my health per second isn't very helpful.</p><p>Still, I have a rough outline of a plan, I just need a little space to use it. I start retreating, giving up ground as I dodge and deflect his swings. There is a pillar behind me, and it's casting a shadow. As I step back into the shadow, I activate [Shadow Step] and sink into it, stepping out of a shadow across the room.</p><p>Before Freed figures out where I am, I down a bunch of potions, cursing my lack of certain kinds of potions. I've been more worried about leveling up the skill than keeping a stock of useful potions. That will change, but for now, I use what I can.</p><p>Health Potions to top off my health, a Minor Protection Potion to reduce the damage done to me by 10%, a Minor Energy Potion to increase my SP Regen by 1%, and a Minor Speed Potion to bump up my DEX to 455. It isn't enough, but it's all I have. Freed has found me again and is rushing towards me. I take a deep breath to brace myself, pull out a Major Health Potion, and activate [Void Blood].</p><p>[Void Blood] is a skill I've avoided using because it costs 1,000 HP per second. When I first got the skill, I only had a bit over 4,000 HP, and I was uncomfortable experimenting with something that could kill me in four seconds. But now I have just under 7,000 HP, and combined with the fact that my base healing rate is 137.2 HP per second, means I could keep up the skill for about 7 seconds.</p><p>Some factors make it worth it now. First, my HP regen is currently boosted to 218.15 HP per second thanks to [Photosynthesis] and the large windows allow sunlight into the room. Second, I was really really hoping that the HP cost would decrease as I level up the skill, and the first twenty to thirty levels of a skill are always extremely fast to level. Though I'm worried about the debuff it applies, I just have to hope it will be something manageable. Either way, I don't have any other options right now.</p><p>As the skill activates, agony rips through my body as I feel the blood in my veins literally be replaced with a torrent of Void. I keep it up for as long as I can, teleporting away with [Shadow Step] when Freed gets too close, buying as much time as I can. I can see the frustration growing on his face.</p><p>"Stop teleporting around you fucker!"</p><p>And in his voice as well.</p><p>I pull up the skill description and I'm relieved to see that the HP cost does in fact decrease, even if it's not as much as I would like. Now level 12, the skill costs 900 HP per second, but it increases my stats by a whopping 209. And that was only three and a half seconds of leveling. Leveling that took out most of my health, but still.</p><p>As Freed approaches, I down the health potion in my hand, topping up my HP, and I raise my Double Strike Dagger. My DEX has surpassed his, getting rid of his speed advantage. But I can't keep this up for long.</p><p>I rush him. Rapidly is a good sword, and he still holds the skill advantage, so playing aggressively and getting inside his reach is my best bet. And with every second, my speed advantage grows, even as death gets closer.</p><p>Freed is the one on the back foot now, his eyes widening in surprise. The happy expression of twisted bloodlust is gone now. Now he's the one dodging my blows. With a thought, [Void Edge] coats my dagger, and I can see when he realizes the danger of that. A single blow would kill him, and I have every intention of doing so.</p><p>Landing the blow is difficult though. At the speeds we're moving, my Void skills are difficult to use, at least the offensive ones. [Void Call] and [Void Beam] have too long of a casting time, making them easy to dodge, and are too expensive to spam. Still, with my slowly rising stats, I'm starting to get the edge on Freed, and my cuts and stabs get closer and closer to him. Panic is starting to appear on his face as he realizes that he's the one in danger now.</p><p>Which is when things go wrong, of course.</p><p>As I give Freed a chance to breathe as I down another Major Health Potion, I notice five people enter the range of my [Void Detect]. They're the only people left in the area other than me, Freed, and Asia, and the fact that they're coming towards the fighting draws my attention immediately. And it draws Freed's as well.</p><p>"You all, get the girl! I'll take care of this fucker!" He shouts at five other stray exorcists that are approaching us. I glance to Asia, who's doing as I said and is staying still in one spot, looking shocked and afraid.</p><p>I quickly cast [Observe] on them, and their levels are in the mid-twenties and none of them have Holy Swords to boost their power. Not a threat to me, but definitely one to Asia.</p><p>I curse as the five exorcists dash for her and I rush to intercept them, ready to defend myself from Freed as I do so. But I'm caught completely off guard as he reaches inside his coat to grab the dagger still in there and turns and runs away. I turn my head to look at him with my eyes instead of [Void Detect] and discover that he's turned invisible. Is that two Excalibur fragments he has then?</p><p>"That won't work on me, you bastard!" I yell and send a [Void Beam] at him. He dodges out of the way though, causing me to blow a hole in the wall behind him, which he dives for and escapes through.</p><p>I curse and spend a fraction of a second contemplating chasing him, but the other exorcists are nearly on top of Asia, so I put him out of my mind and turn my attention back to them.</p><p>Before they reach her, I reach them. I slide to a stop in front of them, blocking the way to Asia. They all freeze, confusion on their faces.</p><p>"Your so-called ally ran off," I explained. "Looks like he used you as a distraction, turned invisible, and ran." I brandish my dagger at them and raise my hand, ready to cast [Void Beam]. "I'll give you the same chance I gave the Fallen Angels. Surrender now, and I'll let you live."</p><p>The five of them stand there, frozen. They exchange looks, and as one they scatter, choosing to flee rather than fight or surrender. Annoying. [Void Beam] nails one of them, cutting clean through them and dropping them. I rush at another, my knife ready. But when I catch up to them, I use [Void Devour] instead to drain his HP, slowing down the rate at which my HP is decreasing because of [Void Blood]. The other three make some distance as I do so, but I'd rather get my HP back as much as I can than chase them down.</p><p>My attention is drawn to them immediately though when I feel what I can only describe as a rupture in the very fabric of space with [Void Detect]. In the time it takes me to turn around to look, I feel a man burst out of the rupture, bowl into one of the fleeing exorcists, and then tear space even worse as he disappears, leaving behind only a splash of blue flame that quickly fades.</p><p>I gape, confused. What the fuck was that? The exorcist I'm currently draining dies, bringing my attention back to the situation. Nevermind, whatever it was, it fucked off. Three more uses of [Void Beam] finish off the exorcists, and things are suddenly quiet, with just Asia and me in an empty airport with five corpses scattered around the room. I finally turn off [Void Blood] as I down another Major Health Potion.</p><p>
  <strong>You are now [Void Ravaged]<br/>HP Regeneration and stats are decreased by 80% for one hour</strong>
</p><p>Fuck that's really bad, 80% is a massive penalty. Hopefully it won't be like that every time. It doesn't escape my notice that my [Void Blood] skill is at level 20, so hopefully as that levels up, the reduction will lower.</p><p>I put away my knife but keep my detection skills up as I walk over to Asia, who is visibly shaken. "Are you okay?" I ask her softly.</p><p>She nods slowly. "None of them got close to me. Are they…?"</p><p>"Dead?" I ask, and she nods. "Yes. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at holding back, and I couldn't risk them getting away so they could try to attack again." Asia looks like she's about to protest so I cut her off. "These are the people that planned on strapping you to a Sacred Gear Extractor to rip out your soul so they could have your Sacred Gear. They were already given a second chance when that plan failed. I had no intention of allowing them a third. God will sort them out now."</p><p>
  <strong>+5 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>She pauses, and then slowly nods at my words. "Okay. I'll pray for their souls and for our Lord's mercy."</p><p>"Right, you do that. Just not right now." I look at the baggage claim conveyor. "Figure out which bag is yours and grab it. I need to make a call and start cleaning up." She nods and starts looking for her bag.</p><p>I pull out my phone and dial Sona's number. She picks up immediately. "Axton? What happened?"</p><p>"Shit went down Sona, and things got messy," I explain. "Asia and I are fine, but there were a lot of witnesses, and there's been a bit of structural damage. And there are some bodies."</p><p>"Please tell me they aren't civilian bodies," Sona asks.</p><p>"No, just some of the exorcists that were working for Raynare and the other Fallen." I go to each one and store them in my inventory.</p><p>"At least there's that," she says with a sigh.</p><p>"One of them got away though. And he had two Excalibur fragments."</p><p>The line is silent for a moment. "Are you sure?"</p><p>"He boasted about them, and they seemed pretty powerful to my senses," I said, partially lying. "One made him much faster, and the other turned him invisible."</p><p>"Rapidly and Transparency," Sona names them. "Fuck." I blink, surprised at the expletive from her. "This is going to be a problem. Okay Axton, stay where you are and try to clean up what you can, especially the bodies. I'll be right there."</p><p>"Got it," I say and hang up. I turn to Asia, who has a small suitcase on the ground in front of her. "We need to stick around for a bit, some friends of mine are going to help us clean up, make sure people don't panic over what happened here."</p><p>She nods, then looks at me in shock. "Wait, you must be hurt, right? Didn't that man say he cut you?"</p><p>I shake my head. "He did, but I heal fast, and I'm already back in perfect condition." I pause. "Well, not perfect. I had to use a technique that leaves me weak afterward. Can Twilight Healing heal things like poison?"</p><p>She nods. "It's a little harder, but I've healed all sorts of strange things." she raises her hands, and a green glowing ball of light appears. I watch it as it soaks into my skin, and I feel a wave of relief wash over me.</p><p>
  <strong>Status Condition Cured</strong>
</p><p>I look at her MP levels. They dropped down to 160. 200 MP to heal a pretty serious status condition? Twilight Healing was amazing. I smile and pat Asia on the head. "Thanks for that, now I really am back in perfect condition."</p><p>+<strong>10 Affection with Asia Argento</strong></p><p>She blushes and looks down. "It's fine, I'm happy to do it."</p><p>"Here, let me get your luggage," I say and I store it in my inventory.</p><p>She tilts her head. "Is that a Sacred Gear?"</p><p>I shrug. "Jury is still out on how I do it, but that's the leading theory."</p><p>I feel a flash of magic nearby with [Void Detect] and twirl to face it, but it's just Sona, Tsubaki, and Momo teleporting in. Sona looks around, spots us, and the three of them walk over to us.</p><p>"You already cleaned up the bodies?" she asks, immediately getting to business.</p><p>"Yep, I have them stored," I confirm.</p><p>She nods. "Good. Hold onto them for now, I'll tell you what to do with them later. For now, I want you and Asia back at your home ASAP. We'll handle clean up, it's not something you're equipped to handle anyways. Unless you have some memory manipulating skills? Or repair skills?"</p><p>"Nothing like that, unfortunately," I say. "Sorry to make such a mess."</p><p>She sighs. "No, you're fine. It was out of your control, and no civilians died so things aren't too bad. It's just annoying going through the whole process of cleaning things up." She shakes her head and looks over to Momo. "Please get them home." And with that, Sona walks off with Tsubaki to start taking care of things.</p><p>Momo turns to me, her expression making it clear that she's in business mode, but it softens when her gaze meets mine. "You just keep finding yourself in messy situations, don't you?"</p><p>"Hey, I went almost an entire week without someone trying to kill me," I joke. "That's not half bad."</p><p>She just shakes her head lightly and then looks at Asia. "Welcome to Japan Asia, I'm sorry your reception has been so chaotic."</p><p>Asia shakes her head. "No, it's fine. It's my fault they attacked anyway. If anything, I'm sorry for being such a bother."</p><p>"Nah," I deny. "They're the murderous assholes, and you're the victim. No apologies are needed from you."</p><p>
  <strong>+5 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>Raising her Affection is so <em>easy</em>, I love it. At this rate, it will only take a couple days to reach 100.</p><p>"You'll be in good hands with Axton watching over you," Momo continues. "And once you two are back in Kuoh proper, there shouldn't be any more surprises. Unfortunately, the airport is just a little too far outside of town to be covered by the wards."</p><p>I frown. "Seems like an obvious oversight, considering the amount of traffic that must run through here."</p><p>Momo shakes her head. "As far as the supernatural goes, it's rarely used. And since our wards are strictly circular, extending it out to cover this airport would massively increase the total area, which causes it to drain more energy. Still, if I know Sona, this place will have its own set of specialized monitoring wards within a few days.</p><p>"That's a discussion that can wait though." She raises a hand and a magic circle appears beneath our feet. "We'll talk more later, okay?"</p><p>"Sure thing," I agree. "Oh, and let Sona know I won't be at school tomorrow," I add on. Momo nods, and with a surge of magic Asia and I are teleported away, appearing in my bedroom. I spend a brief moment wondering why Momo sent us here and not my living room, but I'm immediately distracted by the appearance of a game window.</p><p>
  <strong>Quest Completed!</strong>
</p><p><strong>Nun Escort Mission<br/>Objective: Protect Asia Argento and get her safely home<br/>Secret Objective: Don't let anyone touch Asia<br/></strong> <strike><strong>Secret Objective: Kill Freed Sellzen</strong></strike> <strong><br/>Reward: +15 Affection with Asia Argento, 2 Gacha Tokens, 2000 Hunie<br/>Secret Reward: +20 Affection with Asia, 3 Gacha Tokens, 3000 Hunie<br/></strong> <strike><strong>Secret Reward: 4 Gacha Tokens, 4000 Hunie, Excalibur Rapidly</strong></strike></p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Asia Argento<br/>[Helloooo Nurse!] - Increases Affection gain with healers by 20%</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>50,000 XP rewarded for the fights<br/>Void Mage Class is now Level 73</strong>
</p><p>Dammit, maybe I should have been more aggressive in chasing Freed. Though I would have failed the objective to not let anyone touch Asia. Whatever, I'll track down and kill the bastard later, and hopefully I'll be able to take Excalibur Rapidly off of his hands then. Though holding on to one of the fragments of Excalibur might be more trouble than it's worth.</p><p>Still, some XP, 35 Affection with Asia, 5 Gacha Tokens, and 5000 Hunie total is very appreciated.</p><p>I turn to Asia, who's looking around the room, curiosity in her eyes. "Welcome to my humble little apartment," I say. "Or the bedroom of it anyways. Come on, I'll show you where everything is."</p><p>She's over 50 Affection now, so I don't hesitate to reach down and grab her by the hand to lead her into the hallway. She blushes a little, but she doesn't say anything and her hand squeezes slightly around mine.</p><p>The vague outlines of a plan form in my head. I nudge her slightly with [Erotic Pierrot] and hit her with a light [Touch of Pleasure]. Then I take a quick look at her with [Lewd Scouter].</p><p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Low<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Low<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 65<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: None</strong></p><p>Asia is someone who on the surface is very pure and naive, but I think it would be more accurate to call her a blank slate, and the fact that her fetish list is just 'None' only makes me more confident in that. In the anime, she goes from pure nun to sleeping nude with Issei and willing to let him do anything to her extremely quickly.</p><p>There were a few factors at play there. First, she was in love with him. Second, she was turned into a Devil which likely had some subtle influences, and third, the competition of all the other girls egged her to push past her previous boundaries a little faster. But her actions weren't those of a good Christian girl going bad. Instead, they struck me more as someone who never really thought about sexuality before being introduced to it.</p><p>Which meant that she's the perfect blank slate to mold into whatever I want. I'm only one girl away from completing Kyu's quest, and I've decided it's going to be Asia. But unfortunately for Kyu, I'm going to take my time with her, making sure to shape her properly. This is something I can't afford to rush.</p><p>"So that one bedroom is the only bedroom, and the bathroom is right here," I say, giving her a tour as I lead her to the living room. "Through here is the living room." Yua is sitting on the couch next to Kyu, eyes fastened to us as we walk in. "And here's my adorable little daughter, Yua. Yua, meet Asia. A friend of Sona's asked me to watch over her for a bit so she'll be staying with us for a while."</p><p>Yua pads over to us and Asia crouches down. "Hi Yua," she greets her. She holds out her hand to pet her but hesitates. Yua doesn't though and starts rubbing her head on Asia's outstretched hand. Asia breaks out into a big smile and starts scratching her behind the ears.</p><p>After a moment of that, Asia pulls back, and Yua looks up at me. "Yua likes Asia. Asia gives good scratches and she smells good."</p><p>Asia blinks, surprised. "She can talk?"</p><p>"She's also my familiar," I explain. "She's very smart, and recently a new friend was kind enough to use a spell so she could speak vocally, instead of just through our familiar bond."</p><p>"Yua is very thankful to Kiyome," Yua says. "Before, Yua could only talk to Papa, Mama, and Aunty Kyu."</p><p>"Mama and Aunty Kyu?" Asia asks.</p><p>"Mama is Mama," Yua helpfully explains. "Mama and Papa found Yua and saved her. Aunty Kyu is Papa's friend who spends time with me when Papa is busy."</p><p>Asia looks at me, still confused. "I'm Papa, and Mama is Momo, the white-haired girl who teleported us here. And Kyu is a friend who sometimes watches Yua." I glance at the fairy in question. She's sitting on the couch watching us. She waves, seemingly uncaring that her existence has been discovered.</p><p>"Yua, what do you mean you talked to Mama?" I ask.</p><p>Yua tilts her head, confused. "Papa did that thing that let her talk to Mama, remember?"</p><p>The thing? Oh right! The Sending Stones I had given to the two of them back right after the Fallen incident. "Papa forgot," I say. "I remember now."</p><p>Yua sniffs at my pant leg. "Papa smells like blood. Has Papa been fighting without Yua?"</p><p>"Just a little," I fib. "There were some punks who wanted to kidnap cute little Asia here, so I taught them a lesson."</p><p>"C-cute?!" Asia exclaims, surprised at the sudden compliment.</p><p>I nod in an overly serious manner. "Extremely cute," I say again as I pat her on her head.</p><p>
  <strong>+12 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>Over 75 Affection and I've barely had to work for it. I lean in just a little harder on [Erotic Pierrot] as I pat her on the head. She blushes brightly. I grab her by the hand, [Touch of Pleasure] still active, and guide her to the kitchen.</p><p>"Here, take a seat," I say, directing her to the table. "I'm sure you must be hungry after your flight." I take one of my burgers out of my inventory and place it in front of her.</p><p>Her eyes widen as she sits down. "Is this a hamburger? I've only seen them on TV."</p><p>"That's a shame," I say. "That's a genuine American style cheeseburger that I made myself, practically fresh off the grill." I sit down next to her and take another one out for me. I'll have to make more soon. I pick up my burger and notice that she's still just staring at hers. "Come on, like this." I show her how I'm holding the burger, and then I take a bite out of it.</p><p>I watch her as she slowly brings the burger to her tiny mouth and takes a bite out of it. Her eyes widen. "I've never had something that tastes so good," she says, barely taking the time to breathe before she's taking another, larger bite.</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>"Don't forget to chew," I tease. "It's not going anywhere. While you're staying with me I'll provide you with all sorts of delicious food."</p><p>She pauses in her quest to devour the burger. "That's- that's too much," she says, her cheer and enthusiasm disappearing. "I don't deserve to be treated so well."</p><p>"Oh?" I say casually. "Why is that?"</p><p>"Did they tell you why I was excommunicated from the church?" she asks, placing her food back down onto the plate and putting her hands in her lap.</p><p>"You healed someone that turned out to be a Devil and priests panicked because they touted Twilight Healing as something Holy and the fact that it heals Devils doesn't fit with that explanation," I say. "So instead of admitting they were wrong, they turned the blame on you, despite how little sense that makes."</p><p>"I happily healed anything and everything they asked me to," she continues. "I had no life outside of healing for them, but that was okay. Twilight Healing is a gift that God gave me, and I was happy to use it to help others. But despite that, they just threw me away."</p><p>"Let me stop you right there," I interrupt. "They did that because they're idiots, not because you deserved it. God gave you that Sacred Gear and they have the gall to call you a witch for it?" I scoff. "The way I see it, you deserve so much better than the way they treated you."</p><p>She shakes her head in denial. "I don't. I'm just a stupid girl who only knows how to heal. I'm trash that people just throw to the side. The Church threw me away and the Fallen just wanted to kill me and take my Sacred Gear and they threw me away too when they got found out."</p><p>She's on the verge of tears. I turn from where I'm sitting next to her and pull her into a hug, momentarily dropping the lewd skills. She seems surprised at first but quickly hugs me back, clinging tightly to me.</p><p>"Now you're with me," I say. "Which means you won't be used anymore. Tell me what <em>you</em> want to do, and I'll make it happen."</p><p>She's silent for a moment. "What do I want?" she says, her voice slightly muffled by the fact her face is currently pushed against my chest. "I-..." she trails off. It's apparent that she'd never considered it before. "I want friends. I want to spend time with them and talk with them and to share secrets with them."</p><p>"Well, you've got me," I say. "There's one friend. And I know a bunch of people. Sure, a lot of them are Devils, but they're good people. And tomorrow I'll talk to Sona about enrolling you in the school, and you can make all sorts of friends there."</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>So close now. She looks up at me. "Really? I can go to school?"</p><p>"Absolutely. Don't worry about the language, I'll figure out something to help you translate. And if there's anything you don't understand, I'll be there to help you understand it."</p><p>"I also want to keep healing," she says.</p><p>"And I won't stop you," I say. "If you want, I can help you figure out the logistics of that. I know people who are good at that, and who have connections. I'll help support you however you want to do it."</p><p>
  <strong>+6 Affection with Asia Argento</strong>
</p><p>Just one more. She blushes and buries her face back in my chest. "And I want to stay with you forever," she murmurs. "I don't want to be thrown away anymore."</p><p>"Then it'll be me and you until the end of time, and even beyond that if I have anything to say about it."</p><p>There's no Affection gain for a moment, and I fear that that wasn't enough. But then she speaks up again. "Why? Why would you do all this for me? You just met me."</p><p>"Easy," I say. "Because it's within my ability to do so, and it would make you happy, which would make me happy."</p><p><strong>+5 Affection with Asia Argento<br/>Perk rewarded for reaching 100 Affection with Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>[Overflowing Health] - Party members have their HP Regen increased to 1%/second</strong></p><p>And there it is. Considering everyone but myself usually has an HP Regen rate measure in minutes instead of seconds, that is a massive increase. Also, I believe that's a new record for the fastest 100 Affection. Even Aika took most of a day. It's barely been an hour since I met Asia.</p><p>"Thank you, Axton," she says quietly.</p><p>"Don't worry about it," I reply. "Now come on, let's finish these burgers and then start getting ready for bed. You must be dying for a shower and some rest after traveling all day."</p><p>She nods, and we finish our food in comfortable silence. After that, I show her how the shower works, and leave her in there to wash up. While she's in the shower, I go hang out with Kyu on the couch.</p><p>"So we've got a new roommate, huh?" Kyu comments.</p><p>I use [Sound Domain] to make sure Asia can't hear us, though she probably wouldn't be able to anyway. "Yep. It was sorta a last-minute thing, but a chance came up and I wasn't going to let it slip by."</p><p>Hmm. While I'm sitting here, I may as well level up some skills. Or one skill in particular. I fire up [Void Sight] and aim it at the bathroom where Asia is currently getting undressed.</p><p>"Perv," Kyu shoots at me, teasing.</p><p>I shrug. "You're in no position to comment about my voyeurism," I fire back. "Besides, this is good for grinding the skill level, and as her host, I need to protect her by keeping a close eye on her."</p><p>"Wow okay, you are officially protesting way too much," Kyu says. "You coulda stopped at the first one."</p><p>"Whatever," I say as I watch Asia, now nude, step into the shower. Like spying on the Student Council changing, it wasn't all that satisfying. But a shower was sexier than just getting changed, so I still enjoyed it. Asia was on the petite side, but she has plenty of curves to her, and by normal standards, her boobs are perfectly average. Which makes them small here in DxD, but whatever. Boobs are great in all sizes, within reason.</p><p>"So you don't mind that Yua mentioned you to Asia?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.</p><p>"Nah, I already talked to her about that," Kyu says. "I was thinking of starting to get a little more social. Not fully, but I wouldn't mind talking to some other people besides you two sometimes." She grins. "Plus, when I officially join your harem, that means I can spend some 'quality' time with all of the other cute girls you're collecting."</p><p>I roll my eyes. "You're just like Atsuko, you perv."</p><p>"Bitch please," Kyu protests. "If anything, she's just like me. I've been bisexual for almost 400 years, she just admitted it to herself last week."</p><p>"It's hard to argue against that," I say. Asia is getting out of the shower now. She's looking around for something...oh. "Oops," I say, but I don't move.</p><p>"What?" Kyu asks.</p><p>"I still have Asia's luggage in my Inventory," I say. "Which means she doesn't have a change of clothes right now."</p><p>As if on cue, the bathroom door opens, and Asia steps out timidly, wrapped in only a towel. "Umm, Axton?"</p><p>I act casual, like I don't even notice her state of dress. "What's up?" I ask. Even as I do, I use [Erotic Pierrot] on her hard to increase her arousal.</p><p>"Can I have my suitcase?" she asks. "It has all my clothes in it."</p><p>"Oh right, sorry about that," I say as I pull it out. "Here you go," I get up and carry it over to her, activating [Touch of Pleasure] as much as I can and making sure our hands 'accidentally' brush.</p><p>She blushes and quickly snatches her suitcase back and escapes back into the bathroom with an "okaythankyoubye!"</p><p>I laugh and sit back down on the couch.</p><p>"So how quickly are you gonna get some with her?" Kyu asks. "You got her to 100 Affection pretty quick, you could probably convince her to sleep with you tonight."</p><p>I shake my head. "No, there's no rush. She's so malleable right now. I want to make sure I take full advantage of that."</p><p>"Ooh, that's kinky," Kyu says approvingly. "Though I'm starting to feel kinda blue balled. You're just one girl away, and you decide to take your time with the last one?"</p><p>I shrug. "Sorry about that. There are other girls I might sleep with before her though, so it might not be too long."</p><p>"Fingers crossed," Kyu says as the bathroom door opens. Asia comes out wearing a rather chaste nightgown.</p><p>"You good?" I ask her, and she nods. "Okay. You can sleep in my bed."</p><p>She frowns. "But what about you?"</p><p>"It's fine, I don't need much sleep," I say. Or any at all really.</p><p>Asia shakes her head, a stubborn expression on her face. "No, it's your home, you should sleep in your own bed. I can sleep on the couch, or even the floor."</p><p>"Nope," I deny. "You're my guest and I refuse to let you sleep anywhere but a proper bed."</p><p>Asia seems to recognize that we're at an impasse, and I can see her thinking, looking for a possible solution. She blushes slightly and looks at me with an expression that is half shyness and half hope. "Maybe we can share the bed? I'm not very big, I won't take up much room."</p><p>Hook, line, and sinker. "That could work," I say. "That is, if you're okay with it."</p><p>She nods. "I trust you, and I don't mind."</p><p>"In that case, we'll do that." I stand up. "Give me a couple minutes to get ready and I'll be right in, okay?" She nods, and I head into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I stash my clothes save for my Lucky Underwear into my inventory.</p><p>When I enter the bedroom, Asia is kneeling in front of the bed, her hands clasped in prayer. I stand at the door for a few moments, giving her time to finish up. When she finishes, she raises her head and gets to her feet.</p><p>She turns to me and immediately blushes. "Oh! Umm…" she trails off nervously, her eyes darting back and forth between me and the floor as she struggles not to look at me.</p><p>"Sorry, I usually sleep like this," I say completely unapologetically. "I can throw on some pants if that would make you more comfortable."</p><p>She pauses but shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I'm already imposing on you, you should sleep how you're most comfortable."</p><p>I shrug. "If you're sure?" She nods vigorously. "Alright, well let me know if you change your mind."</p><p>I turn off the light, leaving the bedside lamp as the only source of light. I pat her on the head as I pass her and lay down in the bed. I turn to her and wave her over to encourage her to lay down next to me. The bed is small, but there's enough room for two people to lay comfortably with a bit of space between them.</p><p>So it's a pleasant surprise when Asia gets into the bed closer to me than is necessary. I smile and reach over and turn off the light. "Good night Asia," I say.</p><p>"Good night Axton," she replies. "Thank you. For everything."</p><hr/><p>-Bonus Scene-</p><p><a href="https://i.imgur.com/yoXR2Pr.jpg">Nakamura Hibiki</a> was a hikikomori, a shut-in. She was fine with that and had accepted it. Why would she want to leave her apartment more than she had to? All her stuff was there, and there was little of interest outside of that. Sometimes she would trek out for a new game or special event, but rarely did she leave outside of that. Even her groceries could be delivered to her front door thanks to the power of modern technology.</p><p>It wasn't that she was afraid of the outside world, or people in general. She just had no interest in them, and she wasn't very good at socializing. No, it was just easier for her to stay at home. She got all the education she needed online and made some pocket change by doing commissions online. Though it was her parents' money that allowed her to live here in Kuoh, alone and technically jobless.</p><p>Hibiki was alone, but she was fine with that. She lived a monotonous life where she spent her days trawling the web and indulging in her hobbies. Life was boring but in a comfortable way.</p><p>Until her strange new neighbor moved in.</p><p>She noticed the day he moved in. Of course she did. She already had a habit of spying out her peephole whenever she heard anything on the walkway in front of her door, and a team of movers carrying furniture and boxes is hard to miss.</p><p>Her first impression of her new neighbor, a foreigner with black hair and golden eyes, was mild. He was cute, polite, and wasn't the kind of neighbor to come and unnecessarily greet all of his neighbors when he moved in. Which Hibiki appreciated. Pretending to not be there when someone was knocking at your door was annoying because then you had to be quiet even after they left so they don't know you were ignoring them.</p><p>But a few days after her new neighbor, who she mentally started referring to as "that boy", things grew stranger and stranger.</p><p>The walls between the apartments weren't especially thin, but certain kinds of noises tended to pass through them, especially since their living room and bedrooms shared a wall. So she was able to hear all sorts of things coming from his apartment.</p><p>The first thing she heard was his voice, a <em>lot</em>. She couldn't make out the words even with her ear pushed up against the wall, because he rarely seemed to even speak Japanese. It was mostly English, and another language she wasn't familiar with. French maybe? Her imagination went wild with thoughts of her new neighbor secretly being an international spy, and he was talking on the phone with spies and all kinds of shady contacts.</p><p>And then the next day she heard a cat, which completely threw her for a loop. Not only was it hard for her to imagine why a spy would have a cat, or rather a kitten from the sounds of it, but she knew for a fact that cats weren't allowed in these apartments. It was one of the reasons she was moving soon, she wanted a cute little cat of her own. She didn't report him though. She was unwilling to flaunt the rules like that, but she understood the desire for a feline companion, and would never betray a fellow cat lover.</p><p>That was only the tip of the iceberg though. Over the next couple of weeks, two main occurrences really drew her attention. The least of which was the strange delivery guy. When she heard voices outside her door, she used the peephole and was just barely able to see the edge of the man standing there in front of that boy's door. They were speaking in English, and her English was pretty rusty so she couldn't really follow what they were talking about.</p><p>It was strange to her because she got deliveries frequently, and never had any of them spoken English or worn a uniform that color. She also hadn't heard him walk by her door, which you have to to get to her neighbor's door, but that could have just been him walking quietly.</p><p>Except she heard her neighbors door close, and the delivery person vanished. There was only one stairwell and no elevator, so you <em>had</em> to pass by her door to get to or from that boy's apartment. But despite standing there for 10 minutes, she didn't see him again. Did that boy invite him inside? She was sure she had heard the door close while she could still see the man, but perhaps she was mistaken? She checks the living room and even the bedroom walls, listening for the sound of their voices. Instead, she heard nothing. No voices, no noises.</p><p>Speaking of noises, that gave rise to the second thing she noticed about her neighbor. He was an absolute womanizer. She counted three women he had brought back home and had sex with over the past couple of weeks, some of them multiple times. One time he even had two of them over at the same time!</p><p>And tonight, he had girl number four over, and this girl was not shy about her voice. Hibiki sat with her back to her bedroom wall, listening to her strange neighbor cause this girl to moan like a professional porn star, a wand vibrator pushed up against her clit as she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning as well as she imagined the scene within.</p><p>It wasn't the first time she had masturbated to the sounds of him having sex with a girl. In fact, technically she had done it every time, though the first time she hadn't started until near the end. After that, whenever she heard moans coming through the wall, she busted out her old friend, her vibrator, and drove herself to orgasm, imagining herself as the girl in the other apartment.</p><p>Something about hearing it was so much more personal, and so much more erotic than the porn she watched or the eroge games she played. In fact, it had inspired her to start drawing more erotic art, usually featuring a man that looked a lot like her neighbor, and a woman who looked like the character she used online to represent herself.</p><p>It wouldn't be wrong to say that her neighbor loudly having sex with girls was the main reason that she had recently gained a lot more followers and commission requests as her art got lewder and lewder. He was also the reason for most of her masturbation sessions, either when she listened in on him or was just fantasizing about him.</p><p>She was almost sad that she was moving next week since she would lose such a great source of inspiration, but she would manage, somehow.</p><p>She heard an especially loud moan through the wall as tonight's girl climaxed again, and as her imagination showed a scene of her bent over in front of her neighbor, climaxing around his member, she orgasmed as well, biting her lip hard enough that she worried that it would bleed.</p><p>She looked down at her panties, now thoroughly soaked, and sighed. Well, she needed to do a load of laundry anyway. She started to get up from where she was sitting on the floor but froze as she heard the sound of moaning pick up again.</p><p>Her eyes widened. They were still going? It had been 45 minutes since they started, but their endurance seemed infinite. Well, if her panties were already soaked anyway…</p><p>She flicked the switch on her wand vibrator to turn it back on and once again placed it on her clit. She decided to enjoy the sounds while she could, as she went back to fantasizing about her strange new neighbor.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Axton's Character Sheets: tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Work's been rough. The holidays are going to be sorta chaotic, with some days being dead quiet and others being crazy busy. I can't predict what my update schedule is going to be like in the near future, so thank you in advance for your patience.</p><p>The first part of this chapter really fought me. I had an entirely different scene planned out, but I couldn't make it work. It's a good idea though, and I'll be reusing it better later on down the road. I think what I ended up with works better anyway.</p><p>But on the bright side, Asia's finally here! I know some of you have been waiting for her, and I know I sure have, so I'm pretty excited to finally get here. I have fun stuff planned for her.</p><p>For those curious, the First Impressions perk is actually random. I moved the Gacha sheet to the folder with the character sheets and it also has the loot table and the table I use to roll for the Affection gained from the First Impressions perk if you want to see how it works.</p><p>Also as a note, the Excalibur weapons have been visually redesigned, because DxD swords have the worst designs and I won't stand for it. Functionally they are pretty much identical.</p><p>Some of you are probably wondering who that random guy at the airport is. That's a little cameo/crossover between me and Jarl Draven, who writes Solo Leveling(check it out on FFN or Ao3). Don't worry, that's probably the extent of the crossovers between us, we just thought it'd be fun to tie this omniverse a little closer. The chapter with his version of the scene isn't out yet, but it will be soon.</p><p>The bonus scene is a fun idea I had but I didn't want to fully commit to adding another side plot/girl. I might do a couple more from that character's PoV down the road, not sure. It was a lot of fun to write, but I don't have any concrete plans for her.</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. DxD: Recruitment Week 06</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lightning flashes in the dark clouds above as I glare upwards. Above me, a figure floats, five pairs of black wings spread out behind him, and in his hands is a sword of immense aura made of the purest light I've ever seen. Behind him is a veritable army of other figures, black wings extending from their backs as well, but not as many.</p><p>I roar, blood pumping in my ears, losing myself to anger. I step forward, disappearing from this world only to reappear behind the figure, the knife in my hand glinting as it rushes at his back.</p><p>But, almost contemptuously, the figure turns and casually swipes the sword through me. If it weren't for [Gamer's Body], I would be in two pieces. As it is, I'm sent hurtling backward into the ground, my HP being reduced to almost nothing.</p><p>As I struggle to get up I reach into my Inventory to grab a potion to restore my Health, but my hands come back empty. I've run out. And without healing potions, I can't risk using [Void Blood].</p><p>I look around me, looking for anything I can use, and I freeze in horror at what I see.</p><p>Corpses lay scattered all around me, all of them familiar. Rias, Sona, Momo, Atsuko, Aika, Ruruko, Koneko, Asia. Their bodies lay still and unmoving, cauterized gashes littering their bodies.</p><p>"No," I gasp, my voice hoarse. "No no no nononononono!" I rush to the nearest corpse, Momo, and desperately cradle her in my arms. I search desperately through my Inventory, looking for <em>anything</em> that could help, but there's nothing. The only things left in it are useless pieces of junk. Despair washes over me as I realize that everyone I loved is dead, and there's nothing I can do about it.</p><p>I barely react as I hear a pair of feet land on the ground next to me, only bothering to look when their footsteps approach me.</p><p>I look up to see the sneering face of Kokabiel, all ten of his wings displayed. "Pathetic," he snarls. "For all your boasting, you didn't even rate being an obstacle. And to think I wasted my time planning around you."</p><p>The despair that weighed over me like a blanket vanishes as white-hot fury courses through my veins. It was this motherfucker right here that took everything away from me, and now he came to gloat? <em>Fuck. That.</em></p><p>The feeling of white-hot fury is wiped away by the biting cold of Void in my bloodstreams as I activate [Void Blood], uncaring of the dangers.</p><p>I raise my knife and rush at the bastard, the sound of infinite nothingness singing in my ears as I draw on more and more of the Void.</p><p>I'm going to kill this bastard, even if it means I die trying.</p><hr/><p>I wake up with a jolt, my eyes snapping open. My heart is thundering in my chest, and adrenaline rushes through my veins, bringing me to full alertness. Was that a nightmare? It felt too vivid to be a normal dream. My eyes focus on something in front of me, a Game window.</p><p>
  <strong>Prophetic Dreams Perk activated<br/>You have dreamed of a possible future, work hard to prevent or ensure it!</strong>
</p><p>I forgot about that perk. I sleep so little, and since it hadn't activated last time, I didn't think it would be a common occurrence. The reason I'm getting one now isn't hard to figure out. It's the same reason I've been beating myself up since yesterday.</p><p>I fucked up. The fight I had with Freed shouldn't have even been close. It was fucking <em>Freed</em>. Holy sword or no, I should have demolished him in seconds.</p><p>The fact of the matter is that I got lazy. I grinded like hell to reach a level where I would be safe from Raynare and the other Fallen, and I've gone even beyond that, but the urgency was gone. Even though I'm still so weak compared to many of the major threats, I stopped worrying about it, and just focused on romancing girls.</p><p>I don't regret spending time with my girls, they're important to me, but I regret only worrying about getting laid more, and not as much about training. How many nights did I spend only a couple hours in the dungeon, even if there was no girl waiting for me in my bed? I could have cleared the Hard Mode dungeon, and maybe even one of the other Tier 1 dungeons, if I had put the time into them.</p><p>Not to mention that I've been slacking on my potions. It took me desperately needing a boost in a fight for me to realize that I don't have any of the most useful potions I can make, focusing only on what I can mass produce to level up, and even then I didn't focus enough on it to max out the skill.</p><p>Disgust rises in my throat. I came to this world paranoid and ready for danger. I'm pissed that all it took was a little bit of strength for all that caution to go away.</p><p>Well, no more. That dream made it clear that Kokabiel was coming, and he was going to hit Kuoh harder than he did in canon, and that's my fault. I don't know when he's coming, but considering the equipment I had in the dream and the skills I used, I have at least a little time.</p><p>Asia stirs, drawing me from my thoughts, and I realize the position the two of us ended up in during the night. We weren't very far apart when we fell asleep, but now there was no space between us at all. Asia has her back against my chest, pressing against me as I spoon her with my arm around her waist.</p><p>And of course, my morning wood is tenting my underwear and is pushing against her rear. It takes all I have to not rotate my hips and rub myself on her. However, the urge dies down as she shifts more and I see her eyes flutter open.</p><p>"Good morning," I greet her casually. She blinks at me, still working on waking up and not quite processing things yet. "Did you sleep well?"</p><p>She nods, and starts to move, but stops. I can see an expression of confusion cross her face, and she shifts again, this time her ass definitely pushes into my erection. I hold myself completely still and carefully keep my expression casual.</p><p>She wiggles more, and if I didn't know better I would accuse her of teasing me on purpose, but instead, I believe she's just unsure of what the sensation she's feeling is. She looks down and places her hand on top of where mine rests on her stomach. She follows my arm up with her eyes to my shoulder and then to my face, looking at me, still confused.</p><p>"Is something the matter?" I ask her. She shakes her head, but as I look at her I can see the gears turning in her head as thoughts begin to click together.</p><p>A blush creeps up her face. "I- we- you-" she stammers, not able to put her thoughts into words.</p><p>"Oh, sorry about that," I say as I lift my hand off of her stomach. "I guess I got a little grabby in my sleep and latched on to you."</p><p>"It's- it's fine," she says, finally forming a coherent sentence. I note with interest that she doesn't move at all, despite no longer being 'trapped' by my arm around her waist. "Have you been awake long?"</p><p>"No, I just woke up," I answer her, smiling. I don't even need to use my lewd skills to incentivize her, she's already perfectly willing to cuddle like this. "I think me waking up woke you up actually." I look at the time. It's a little later than I would normally get up, but since I wasn't going to classes today anyway it's fine. "You want some breakfast?"</p><p>She nods but doesn't move. And since she's on the outside of the bed, she has to get up before I do. I don't rush her though, enjoying the feeling of her back pushed up against me, especially her backside against my erection.</p><p>After a few moments of silence and neither of us moving, she seems to figure it out for herself, and she blushes a little more before she climbs out of bed. I chuckle slightly as I follow her, patting her on the head.</p><p>"I'll leave so you can get changed with some privacy," I say as I use my Inventory to throw some pants on. No shirt though, so I can give Asia a little eye candy. "I'll get some food started."</p><p>I close the bedroom door behind me and head for the kitchen. I'm pretty sure I have the ingredients for pancakes, I can cook up a few stacks of those pretty quickly.</p><p>As I start grabbing the stuff I need, I hear Kyu's voice from behind me. "Ooh, cooking topless? Now that's a look I appreciate."</p><p>"Good morning Kyu," I say, checking on Asia with [Sound Domain] and making sure she doesn't hear us. "I'm making pancakes, you want some?"</p><p>"You bet your ass I do," she said. "If you make pancakes and there's none for me, I cannot be held responsible for what happens afterward."</p><p>"Noted," I say with a laugh. I check on Asia. She's still getting dressed. "So I had a dream last night."</p><p>"Oh?" Kyu says. She pauses for a beat. "Oh, that perk went off. Boring. I was hoping you had a wet dream while sharing a bed with Asia." She sighs. "Anything interesting in the dream?"</p><p>"Oh not much," I say, my voice straining slightly. "Just me and everyone I love dying."</p><p>"Ouch," Kyu says. "That bad huh? You do know those things aren't set in stone though, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, there was a message indicating so. And I know how to avoid it." I hope.</p><p>"Good," she says. "I'm having a lot of fun, I don't want things to end like that."</p><p>"You and me both," I say quietly.</p><p>The bedroom door opens and Asia comes in, ending the conversation between me and Kyu. Asia, dressed in her nun robes, comes to stand next to me, watching as I pour the pancake batter on a heated pan.</p><p>"Have you had pancakes before Asia?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "Well then, you're in for a treat."</p><p>She watches as I make a few pancakes and stack them on a plate, keeping them in my inventory between stacking for maximum freshness. When I get a good stack I drop a bit of butter on top of it and pour some syrup on.</p><p>Asia needs some guidance on how she's meant to eat it, but a quick demonstration later and she's devouring the plate. I smile as I cook up more, wanting to prep a bunch for future use. The XP they give for cooking isn't bad, and neither is their buff.</p><p>
  <strong>Pancakes<br/>A stack of three pancakes, butter and syrup optional. +5% Damage Resistance and +5% XP for 2 hours.</strong>
</p><p>I also note that the buffs my food provides don't seem to be going up as the skill does, meaning the quality of the buff probably depends on the dish, or more specifically, the ingredients. I'll have to work on getting my hands on quality ingredients soon. And plates, I note as I look in my now much emptier cupboard.</p><p>I store a dozen plates of pancakes into my inventory before I make a plate for myself and scarf it down. As I eat I start planning for the day. Now that Asia is here, it opens up some possibilities. Mostly training up [Void Blood] as it was by far my most powerful Ace, but there was something else I was too busy to do that she would be well suited for, and if I understood her personality correctly, she would be thrilled to be of use.</p><p>I also need to max out my Alchemy as soon as possible and get a wide range of powerful potions. Ingredients were still a major bottleneck in that though. I'll have to figure out what recipes I want the most of, and how to make them as cheaply as possible, and then bulk order those online or something. Thankfully, I was starting to get a pretty good instinctual feel for what ingredients made what potions.</p><p>I finish my food, grab mine and Asia's dishes, and throw them into the dishwasher. I pull out my phone and start writing a text to Sona even as I start speaking to Asia. "Okay Asia, here's the plan for today." She sits up and gives me her full attention. "Normally on weekdays, I go to class. Today I'm not doing that, both so I don't leave you here alone, but also because I have things I need to take care of here." I finish my text and send it. "I've just contacted Sona about getting you enrolled in classes, so hopefully starting next week you'll be able to come with me and we can go to school together."</p><p>"So soon?" Asia asks, tone excited and filled with wonder.</p><p>"Sona's got some pull, so I think she can make it happen pretty quickly," I say. "But for today, it's just going to be me and you. I have two things to work on, and if you're willing, I would appreciate your help with them."</p><p>"I'll do anything I can to help," she says earnestly. "I know I'm asking a lot by staying here with you, and I want to show my appreciation however I can."</p><p>I smile and pat her head. "You don't have to do anything, but I do appreciate it." I pause as I think of how to explain things to Asia, or rather, how much I want to reveal to her.</p><p>It doesn't take me long to realize that I'm okay with revealing a lot to her. Between how fast I got her to 100 Affection and just her personality in general, I trust her a lot. I'm confident I have her complete loyalty and I won't have to worry about her telling others or using the information against me.</p><p>"The fight last night showed me that I'm not as prepared for things as I thought I was," I start. "In fact, I had to rely on a dangerous technique to repel him."</p><p>"The one I healed the after-effects of," she says, frowning. "The one that left your veins nearly in tatters."</p><p>"You could tell that?" I ask, surprised.</p><p>She nods. "I'm not a doctor, but I get an impression of what I'm healing."</p><p>"Interesting," I muse. I didn't know that. "But yes, that technique. Last night was my first time using it, because of how dangerous it is. But I was pushed into a corner and it was my best option, and I don't want to be in that position again.</p><p>"Thankfully, there's an upside to it," I continue. "If I practice it in a safe environment, I'm sure I can make it far less dangerous. And If I can get it to the point where the damage is negligible, it would give me an extremely powerful tool. The advantages it gives me are too great to ignore."</p><p>Asia looks nervous and unsure, but she nods at my words. "What do you need me to do?"</p><p>"Mostly, just watch me," I tell her. "I'm going to be careful about it, but I would be a lot more comfortable with someone watching over me. And I'll probably need you to heal me a few times."</p><p>She nods. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you."</p><p>I smile. "Thanks, Asia. That makes me feel a lot more comfortable with this." I stand up. "Come on, let's do this in the living room where I'll be a little more comfortable."</p><p>She follows me to the living room, where I sit cross-legged on the couch. I sit sideways so she can sit behind me. "Are you ready?" I ask her.</p><p>She places her hands on my naked back. "Yes," she says, her tone serious and determined.</p><p>I take a deep breath and activate the skill.</p><p>Not much has changed since I used the skill last night. I only leveled up once from the fight, probably because Freed got away. But I pull up my stat windows and do the math anyways as I watch my health bar.</p><p>My efforts last night got the cost of the skill down to a 'mere' 818 HP a second. With the aid of [Photosynthesis], I healed roughly 225 HP a second, which means using [Void Blood] effectively only cost me 593 HP a second, and at that rate, I can keep it up for just under 12 seconds before I drained my HP completely.</p><p>It's not as simple as that though. For every second I use the skill, it gains a little more experience. It's not a lot, but it probably would be enough to make it so it would take more than 12 seconds for it to kill me.</p><p>I decide to just play it safe though and cut off the skill when my HP goes below 1,500, which should give me somewhere between 2 and 3 seconds for a margin of error, which is more than enough.</p><p>I cut the skill off 9 seconds later, ignoring the status window that pops up. My health is down to 1026, but already it's shooting back up. I breathe heavily, the pain of the skill slowly fading away, and check the skill.</p><p><strong>[Void Blood] - Level 24(38%)<br/></strong> <strong>Allow Void to run through your veins, sacrificing health for an increase in performance. Costs 791HP/s, increases all Stats by 433. Maximum HP/MP/SP are unaffected. Applies the Void Ravaged status effect for one hour after use</strong></p><p>My efforts had gained me four levels in the skill, but it isn't enough. The HP cost only goes down 9 per level, and it isn't even every level, most likely due to rounding. Twilight Gear might be amazingly efficient, but Asia's MP recovers too slowly for her to keep up with this training.</p><p>Still, I do confirm that the status effect only reduces my stats by 76% now, meaning that by the time I max it out, it shouldn't happen at all.</p><p>"Heal me up please," I say once my HP is full, and I feel the comforting warmth of Twilight Healing spread through me. "Thank you, but we're going to have to change things up," I say.</p><p>"What do you mean?" she asks as I turn around to face her.</p><p>"That's as long as I can hold the skill before it becomes dangerous, and the rate that it improves is too slow. I need you to heal the after-effects of it each time, but I doubt you have the energy to heal me every 10 to 15 seconds."</p><p>She grimaces. "Sorry, I can maybe do it once or twice more, but I would need to rest after that." She tilts her head. "But didn't you use it for longer than that against Freed?"</p><p>"Yes I did," I confirm. "Which brings me to the second thing I want to work on. I can make potions that do various things. If you were watching me last night, you probably saw me drink some things out of vials?" She nods. "One of the ones I drank a lot of healed me, letting me keep the technique up longer. But I don't have enough of those to properly train with.</p><p>"So my goal today is to make a lot more of those, and also another kind of potion. My body is weird, and I can heal from most things very fast. Even the aftereffects of that technique will dissipate roughly an hour later. But there's a type of potion I can make that increases my healing to even more extreme levels. If I can make a good enough one of those, I can keep up the skill for as long as the potion lasts, which will let me train it much more efficiently."</p><p>"I'm not sure I really follow, but if you think that's the best way to do it, I'll help however I can," Asia declares earnestly.</p><p>I smile and pat her on the head again. I really do that a lot with her huh? It just feels so natural to do.</p><p>"Thank you, Asia." I stand up and move to the window. "So when it comes to actually making the potions, the process is simple, and I don't need much help there. But there's one crucial aspect that I could use some help with. Ingredients."</p><p>A little bit ago, last weekend actually, I bought some planters and gardening equipment, but I never really took the time to do anything with them. But with Asia here now, perhaps she would like to try her hand at it?</p><p>"I have some seeds for plants that would make good ingredients," I say as I pull the Wild Seeds and Wild Magic Seeds out of my inventory. "I also have a technique I can teach you that will make them grow much faster. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you helped me out with growing them and taking care of them."</p><p>Her face lights up. "I've always wanted to have a garden. The priests at the church never let me, they said they didn't want me getting my hands dirty."</p><p>I shake my hand. "You know, I'm sorry you were forced out, but it sounds like it might have been a blessing in disguise. A chance for you to get out and experience all the things you wanted to."</p><p>"I hope you're right Axton," she says.</p><p>"Now, come on over here, lemme teach you how to do this," I instruct her. She nods and comes over, and with some simple mental commands, I add her to my Party. Other than Yua, she's the first one I've done this with.</p><p>When I added Yua, there was a screen that told me that she would only get 25% of the XP I earned because our levels were more than 10 apart. I get a similar one when Asia is added, but now it's telling me she'll only earn 10% because our levels are more than 100 apart. A shame, but 10% of the XP I can earn is still pretty good for someone who is level 4.</p><p>I take one of my Wild Seeds and push it into a pot already filled with soil. "This is how you do it," I tell her as she squats down next to the pot on the ground. "All you need to do is to push some of your magic into it while holding onto the desire for it to grow in your mind."</p><p>My instructions are mostly based on what Yua had told me about using her own skills that I had taught her. She said all she really needed to do was think about it, and it happened. I demonstrate for Asia, using [Green Thumb] to grow the plant, pouring roughly 500MP into the seed.</p><p>It grows much faster than I expected, shooting up to several inches tall. Huh. I probably should be using this skill more often. Hiding my surprise, I turn to Asia. "See? Easy as that."</p><p>She looks unsure. "Magic? I've never done magic before, the church doesn't like it."</p><p>"It's only kind of magic," I fib. "Magic usually needs you to do calculations and make a magic circle and all sorts of fancy stuff." At least in DxD that's how it works. I think. "This is more like using your Sacred Gear. Just take that effort and willpower you usually draw on when healing someone and instead try to put it in the plant. The plant will take that energy and do the only thing it knows how to do and grow."</p><p>She still looks a little unsure, but she nods, accepting my explanation. I quickly use [Mentor] to give her [Green Thumb] and motion for her to try. She reaches out and gently curls her fingers through the small leaves protruding from the stem of the plant. Her eyebrows furrow as she concentrates on the plant, but soon enough it starts to visibly grow.</p><p>The Game makes using these sorts of skills insanely easy, so I wasn't worried about her not being able to do it. And the way her face lights up and her eyes sparkle in wonder as she watches the plant grow makes it worth it.</p><p>Unfortunately, her MP pool is small, and she's not able to grow it as much as I did, but that doesn't dampen her spirits in the slightest.</p><p>"I did it!" she exclaims, looking up at me excitedly. She immediately frowns though. "Oh, that took a lot out of me though."</p><p>"Hmm," I hum, thinking. I only have one Mana potion, and that would only help her a little. A Regeneration potion would be better, but I don't have any of those. But I can make one. I use [Observe] on the plant we just grew and discover that it's ginseng.</p><p>I use [Green Thumb] again, dumping 2,000 MP into it to fully grow it. The part above the soil grows until a small bush, and to my delight, there are visible seeds. Asia looks on in wonder as I then pull the plant up to get at its large roots, the useful part of the plant.</p><p>Asia watches, curious, as I remove the seeds and set them to the side, place the roots into my automatic mortar and pestle that I pull out of my inventory, and I start grinding up a ginkgo plant I got as a random loot drop ages ago in my normal mortar and pestle.</p><p>I take both of those, some green tea leaves, and some coffee grounds, and throw them into a vial with some water. A quick application of 5,000 MP and the ingredients swirl together to create a teal-colored Major Regeneration Potion.</p><p>"Here, drink this," I say as I offer the vial to Asia. "This will cause you to generate magical energy really fast for the next 12 minutes." At least, compared to her normal regeneration speed. It 'only' increased MP regen by 5% of her max per second, which only put her at a little over 18 MP a second. Unfortunately, it's the best potion I can make right now.</p><p>"Plant some more of these," I say, handing her the ginseng seeds, "and the rest of these as well," as I give her the Wild Seeds. "I don't know what plants those will grow into, but if we're lucky, I might be able to make more of those potions for you."</p><p>"Okay Axton," she says with a nod. She takes the potion from me and drinks it, then takes the seeds from me and starts planting them.</p><p>Leaving her to it, I go back to the couch to work on more potions. My main issue right now is having a sufficient number of different kinds of ingredients. I was able to make that Regeneration potion for Asia, but without her growing more ginseng, I wouldn't have the ingredients to make more Major potions and would have to make Moderate ones. But making higher-level potions was far more efficient in leveling the skill in terms of costs.</p><p>Following that line of logic, my previous strategy of focusing more on leveling the skill wasn't wrong, but I slowed down too much, comforted by the high level without actually making the potions I need.</p><p>I go to pull the ingredients I plan to use out of my inventory and pause, my eyes catching on the five Gacha tokens I still have that I got for completing the Asia escort quest last night. I decide to take care of that first since it might give me something useful.</p><p>
  <strong>Omni-Ring<br/>A ring that can absorb magical accessories. All absorbed accessories are still active when this ring is worn. Max 999 accessories.</strong>
</p><p>We're off to a good start. I pull out the Omni-Ring. It's a thick metal band with a green gem being held in place by decorative jaws. This came just in time. Currently, I have five different rings, one of which I don't even use normally, and two necklaces. I hate wearing all of them but the benefits are too good to pass up. Being able to do all that with just one accessory is perfect.</p><p>I quickly feed all of my accessory items to the Omni-Ring, excluding only my Lucky Underwear, which is far too comfortable and useful for me to give up, and my Bloodhound Ring, a ring that increases my sense of smell. Being that sensitive to smells could be a detriment and I don't want to have it always active.</p><p>I put the ring on again after it absorbs the accessories. And with it all in just one ring, I can wear it at all times, not just when I'm in my combat gear. Excited over my good pull, I use my next gacha token.</p><p>
  <strong>Thief's Compass<br/>Points towards the most valuable item within a 1-mile radius.</strong>
</p><p>Nifty, maybe I should take it out for a spin soon. I chose Rogue as my first class, but I've yet to do any good old-fashioned burglary. Except for when I snuck into the Fallen's base. Hmm. I pull the compass out. It's simple and looks more like a pocket watch than a compass. There are no numbers, only a single needle, pointing roughly north and glowing in a bright blue color. I'll have to check that out later. On to the next pull!</p><p>
  <strong>Hestia Knife<br/>A mithril knife that grows with the user. Can also be used as a focus for casting spells. Damage equals 3x (Level + DEX). Critical Hit modifier is 3x, goes up by one for every maxed class.</strong>
</p><p>My eyes widen. Now, this is a good pull. Running some calculations in my head, it's only a little better than my current best knife, but it'll improve faster, especially as that Critical Hit modifier increases. And if I add some poison on top of that damage, it grows to an extremely potent level.</p><p>I frown as I look at it though. This is definitely the knife I used in my dream. The fact that I got the knife I saw immediately after having the dream fills me with unease. Pushing those thoughts aside, I use my fourth gacha token.</p><p>
  <strong>Float Stone<br/>Halves the weight of the holder. Weight cannot be decreased below 0.1kg</strong>
</p><p>My initial reaction is that it's lackluster, but honestly, it's not bad. I've pulled less useful things in the past. I think. I'm not sure what I can use this for. Maybe in the future I'll run into someone really heavy who needs to be carried by someone with an insufficient STR? It's not very helpful for making myself lighter. It would barely make me any faster and I'd have to get used to my new weight. I shrug and stash it into my inventory. I'll save it for when I need it. I have one last Gacha token, so, with mixed expectations, I spin the gacha again.</p><p>
  <strong>Grimoire of Miracles<br/>Can be used by a non-Gamer to learn the skills of the Miracle Wielder class. Skills are not Game enforced but can achieve the same effect. Users must spend time reading and practicing to learn the skills.</strong>
</p><p>Another grimoire? I pull it out and start flipping through the pages. Where the Dark Mage one had diagrams, explanations, and formulae, this one is mostly a guide on how to pray and shape what they called 'holy power'. From the sound of it, holy power is just mana. Maybe mana infused by the user's faith?</p><p>I recognize the spells, or miracles as the text called them. The names are different, but they're definitely the miracles from Dark Souls. Healing, lightning, and even what was obviously the Force miracle.</p><p>Now that I think about it, the spells in the Dark Mage grimoire were pretty reminiscent of Dark Souls as well. A coincidence? The description of the grimoires implies that they can be from any conceivable class, so it's strange that both of the ones I've gotten so far are both Dark Souls themed.</p><p>I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with the Dark Mage grimoire, but this one seems perfectly suited for Asia, considering it seems to be powered by the user's Faith. Maybe Irina or Xenovia too, if they ever show up here.</p><p>I look over at Asia, who is gently cupping another ginseng plant as it grows. Maybe later. I'm not sure I want to ask her to start studying a grimoire of magic right after asking her to magically grow plants. I need to get her leveled up too, but I'm not sure how to approach that.</p><p>I shake my head. I'll figure that out later. Right now I need to make potions. I could start making Health Regeneration Potions immediately but I have so few ingredients for making them, and I'm so close to level 75 that I'm sure I can unlock the next tier of potions soon, and those ingredients would be better suited for those.</p><p>So instead, I figure out what ingredients I have a lot of and what potions I can make out of them. I stocked up on more ingredients for Aphrodisiacs yesterday, so I start with those. Before I start I down a Minor XP potion for a small boost. I could use a stronger one, but I'd rather save them for when I'm making better potions.</p><p>Thankfully, it seems like I have enough. Using all the ingredients I can, over the next half hour I make 56 Major Aphrodisiacs and 3 more Major Regeneration Potions, after Asia brings me ginseng plants after growing them. I replaced the ginkgo with some energy drinks, which seemed to do the trick. And all that was enough to get me to level 75, and even a little beyond.</p><p><strong>[Alchemy] - Level 76(77%)<br/></strong> <strong>Combine ingredients, items, and materials to create something from them. Limited to five ingredients max. Skill can also be used to find out what would be made from held ingredients.</strong></p><p>The skill description changed more than just a little. Where before, trying to use the skill on nothing gave me an impression of making potions or mixing different kinds of metals together to create magical alloys, now there was a new impression. Two kinds of ritual circles I could draw to combine just about anything into one; one to combine them evenly and the other to enhance one of the objects with properties of the others.</p><p>This opened up so many possibilities. With the right items, I could create just about anything. I start using the skill on various potions of mine and an iron dagger, to see if I could enhance it with the effects of the potion, and immediately run into a wall. The skill is telling me that I can't use anything I've created with Alchemy as components, just like I can't use potions as ingredients to make more potions.</p><p>That limits my options somewhat, but not completely. I'll experiment with that later. For now, I need to focus on making some Restoration Potions so I can train [Void Blood]. I only have the ingredients on hand to make a couple. But looking at the ingredients, I notice a common theme, and my mind quickly figures out two more potential ingredients I can get in decent numbers.</p><p>I grab a few handfuls of soil from the gardening stuff I laid out on the floor, take out my alchemical jug, still filled with seawater, and dump that into a container, then use the alchemical jug to fill itself with spring water. Then I combine both kinds of water with the soil, a taproot, and a bear claw and begin to mix my mana into it.</p><p>It takes 10,000 MP to make the potion, which means I can only make one about every 25 seconds. Which is fine, because I only have enough ingredients for 5 of these potions, but they are worth every bit of mana I use on them.</p><p>
  <strong>Ultimate Restoration Potion<br/>Increases HP Regen by 10% per second for 710 seconds.</strong>
</p><p>And just like that, I have enough potions for nearly an hour's worth of continuous [Void Blood] training. The regeneration these potions offer me is already higher than the cost of [Void Blood] before I even take [Photosynthesis] into account. But there's one more potion I can make before that. I quickly throw some ingredients together to make three more potions.</p><p>
  <strong>Ultimate XP Potion<br/>Increases XP gain by 50% for 1 hour</strong>
</p><p>Combined with my Covetous Silver Serpent Ring, that's a total increase of 70%. The ingredients aren't even that valuable, mostly scrap material and batteries. It's definitely going on my list of things to get a large supply of ingredients for.</p><p>As I go to drink it though, I pause. The plan was to just level [Void Blood] with this, but that would just be an hour of sitting around doing nothing. No, I can train other skills at the same time now that I don't have to worry about the HP cost.</p><p>Looking at my other skills, my eyes settle on [Fade]. At level 91, it offers me almost complete invisibility, but that qualifier of 'almost' annoys me. I'm a Rogue dammit, I want to be completely undetectable.</p><p>A plan coming together in my head, I call out to Asia. "Asia? Change of plans, we need to go somewhere briefly."</p><p>She looks over at me while in the middle of pulling out another ginseng plant. "Okay Axton," she says. She places the plant aside on another one she pulled out earlier, plants a new seed, and brushes the soil off of her hands. "Where are we going?" she asks, curious.</p><p>I've told Asia this much about my powers, so I don't mind telling her a bit more. "One of the things I can do is enter a sort of pocket dimension," I explain. "Inside there, I can train really efficiently, it's how I'm so strong. And I can bring other people with me, and they can get stronger too, even if they don't do anything."</p><p>Her eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"</p><p>I nod. "Yep, and I just made some potions that will help me train even faster. So I want to go in there for an hour and train some, and since I don't want to leave you here alone, I want to take you with me."</p><p>"Is it dangerous?" she asks.</p><p>"No," I say, shaking my head. "At least, not where you'll be. There are safe spots inside of the pocket dimension and you'll be staying there. Yua will be with you there to keep you company, and so she can alert me if somehow something happens."</p><p>I look around. Where is Yua anyway? I haven't seen her all morning. Using our bond, I track her down to find her curled up on one of the kitchen chairs, still asleep. "Yuaaaa," I whisper at her while gently poking her with a finger. "Wake up sleepyhead. I've got a job for you."</p><p>Yua blinks awake, stretching and yawning. "What is it, Papa? Are we going out?"</p><p>"Sorta," I tell her. "Papa needs to do some training in the Dungeon, and I need you to keep an eye on Asia in a safe room, just in case."</p><p>"Okay Papa!" she says cheerfully, now fully awake. "Yua will protect Asia!"</p><p>"That's my good girl," I say with a smile, scratching her behind her ears. This causes Yua to close her eyes and purr for a moment before she climbs up my arm and perches on my shoulder.</p><p>I turn back to Asia. "Are you ready?"</p><p>She looks unsure. "Do I need to do anything to prepare? Should I bring something?"</p><p>"Not really, except maybe something to entertain you for an hour," I say. "Actually, I have something that might interest you. But it's a commitment." I pull out the Grimoire of Miracles. "This is a book I found that teaches you how to turn faith into miracles, allowing you to heal or even control holy lightning for something more offensive. If you want, I'll give this to you, and you can start studying it."</p><p>"Is this more magic?" she asks.</p><p>"Not really," I lie. "It uses your mana, same as your Sacred Gear, but again it's not like you're doing magic. From what I read, you use your faith to shape your magic power through prayer and your will. The stronger your faith, the better it works."</p><p>"Okay," she says, equal parts determined and excited. "I'll study it. I want to be more useful."</p><p>I frown. "You don't have to be useful, Asia. I'll keep you around even if you just want to lounge around eating pancakes all day."</p><p>"But I <em>want</em> to be useful," she insists.</p><p>"In that case, I won't stop you," I say, and I hand her the Grimoire. "Now hold still, and I'll move us into the pocket space." She clutches the book tight to her chest and nods as I place a hand on her shoulder and use [Dungeon Traversal].</p><p>When the list of Dungeons appears, I pause and consider which one I should go to. The Hardmode Zombie Dungeon would probably give me the most experience, but I wanted to focus on [Fade], and stealth didn't work very well against those enemies. Perhaps one of the dungeons I haven't gone to yet? Of my options, the best one is the Vampire Mansion. The Pharaoh's Tomb would undoubtedly be too much of a maze, and the Water Temple is the Water Temple. To make the best use of my hour, that one is probably my best bet.</p><p>I choose it, and the surroundings change around us from a normal kitchen to what looks like a Victorian sitting room. Asia looks around in surprise at the smooth transition and Yua jumps off of my shoulders to start sniffing around.</p><p>I start pulling things from my inventory. The Wand of Searing Light for Yua, who gently takes it in her mouth, ready to use it. I also take out a Light Sword and hand it to Asia. "The chances of anything happening to you in this room is zero, but I believe in taking caution anyway. Push your magic into this like you do with the plants to create a blade of holy light. The dangers here are undead in nature, so that should be effective in holding them off long enough for me to get back."</p><p>She frowns at it. "How did you get an Exorcist's Light Sword?"</p><p>"Took it from the Fallen," I explain. "I'm glad you recognize it though. Again, you shouldn't need it, but just in case. Let Yua handle anything that comes up though, there shouldn't be anything that she can't take care of here." Yua puffs up her chest at my praise.</p><p>"Feel free to explore this room, there might be something interesting in here," I continue. "But don't open the doors." I take out an Ultimate Restoration Potion and an Ultimate XP Potion. "Anything you need before I go? Once I drink these, I'll be on the clock."</p><p>She pauses, looking around nervously. "Are you sure it's safe?"</p><p>"I wouldn't risk your life if I wasn't 100% sure," I respond. "But here, if it'll make you feel better, drink this." I hand her a Minor XP Potion. "This is a special potion that will keep you safe, okay? Drink it right when I leave."</p><p>"Okay," she nods, looking comforted. Good, this will help her level up just a little faster.</p><p>"In that case, I'll see you in an hour," I say. She nods, and sits down in one of the antique chairs, getting comfortable, and I turn to leave, putting on my gear and activating my skills. It's time to get to work.</p><hr/><p>There's honestly not much to be said about the Vampire Mansion dungeon. It's a labyrinth of Victorian Era rooms filled with thralls, vampires, and hellhounds. It's absolutely filled with shortcuts, secret passages, and hidden stashes. I ignore most of the stashes for now, focusing on clearing rooms of enemies as fast as possible. And between [Fade] to remain hidden, [Sound Domain] to make sure no one hears anything, and how fast I am with [Void Blood] active, I clear rooms <em>very</em> fast.</p><p>I get all sorts of windows and notifications as I make my way through, but I ignore them, focusing on clearing the dungeon as fast as possible. The layout of the dungeon makes no sense. I've checked the map a couple times and it's the worst thing to navigate. Rooms occupy the same space and I'll go up a flight of stairs only to end up in a basement like this place is straight out of an M.C. Escher painting.</p><p>Thankfully, [Void Detect] doesn't have too much trouble with it. I don't know which way I'm going, but it gives me a sense of the positioning of the rooms in a way that I suspect a normal spatial sensory skill would be unable to do. It seems the Void doesn't care how twisted space is though.</p><p>Even with how fast I'm clearing rooms, I'm surprised when I enter a room under the cover of [Fade] and discover that I'm in what has to be the boss room. It's a large throne room lined with marble pillars that stretch to the ceiling a good 30 feet above me. And at the other end is a being in a black suit and cape, a glass of wine in his hand.</p><p>Just as I tense up, ready for a fight, I notice that he hasn't moved. He's sitting on the throne, staring right at the door, but he didn't notice me slip in. So I use the chance to use [Observe] on him, and I instantly relax. This is no Dracula, no Alucard, no great vampire of old. No, the game lists him as merely a Vampire Lord. He's by far stronger than any of the other vampires I've killed, but not by enough to matter to me under the effects of [Void Blood].</p><p>I play it safe anyways though, and scramble up a pillar and along the ceiling with [Spider Climb], making sure I stay out of this range of sight. Then, when I'm above him, I drop down and plunge my Hestia Knife into his heart while using a Light Sword to cut off his head.</p><p>Strictly speaking, I didn't need to take special measures to kill vampires, or at least I haven't so far. Either [Void Edge] does the job, or they aren't the immortal kind of vampires that need a specific method to kill them. Still, better to be safe than sorry, and it was very little additional effort to do so.</p><p>Whether or not I needed to do it remains unanswered because the vampire doesn't get back up. I relax and look at the time. 57 minutes to rush a dungeon and defeat the boss, not bad. Now I just have to go back and pick up all the items I missed. But first, I need to check on my level-ups.</p><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 194<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Void Mage(94/100)[84%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 8,700 (1,044 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 26,340 (527 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 5,920 (118 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 435<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 271(296)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 476<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 878<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 764<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 273<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 375(385)</strong></p><p><strong>[Fade] - Level 100(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Reduces all forms of presence by 100%. Costs 100SP/s</strong></p><p><strong>[Backstab] - Level 100(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Sneak attacks on an enemy's back do extra damage. Replaces sneak attack multiplier with 22x damage</strong></p><p><strong>[Void Blood] - Level 100(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Allow Void to run through your veins, sacrificing health for an increase in performance. Costs 100HP/s, increases all Stats by 2195. Maximum HP/MP/SP are unaffected.</strong></p><p>21 levels in my Void Mage class and three maxed out skills. [Fade] being maxed out is nice, but it's [Void Blood] that I'm really excited for. Over 2000 bonus points in each stat for what amounts to slower healing. And the status effect is completely gone. I actually felt it when it reached max level earlier because it went from a very small amount of pain to being almost soothing. I shrug and keep the skill active. I'm pretty sure everything is dead, but I might as well keep playing it safe. I think I'll keep it as a trump card outside of the dungeon though.</p><p>I got more than a couple maxed-out skills though. I got two more perks just from leveling up.</p><p><strong>Perk rewarded for 250 STR<br/></strong> <strong>[Empowering Muscles] - When struggling against more powerful foes, your STR will increase by 1 for every two seconds to match their own. The increase reverts when you are no longer struggling.</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 250 CHA<br/>[Everyone's Type] - Increases Affection gains with anyone who does not gain increased Affection</strong>
</p><p>Both are good. The STR one is useful and can help me tip things in my favor, and the CHA one will speed up the Affection growth of the types of people I don't have bonuses for.</p><p>With a class level of 94, I should have gained two more Void Mage skills. I start to pull them up, but I freeze after reading the first one.</p><p><strong>[Void Cloak] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Wrap yourself in Void, rendering yourself intangible and invisible. Costs 10,000 MP/s<br/></strong> <em> <strong>Just like the Tenno. But you're not quite like them, are you, champ?</strong> </em></p><p>I- what? The Tenno? No, wait. First off, what is this message? The Game hasn't ever included fucking <em>commentary</em> on my skills. It's not even sentient, that's why Kyu is needed. So why do it now?</p><p>The only reason I can think of is that it isn't the Game, but somebody or something from the outside.</p><p>There are only so many people that can be. They would need to know about the Tenno, enough to draw the comparison from the skill I just gained to them. My mind instantly jumps to it being another Gamer. I know I'm not beyond the reach of them, considering I get packages delivered by one, and I suspect the person who tore space open and briefly appeared last night at the airport is another, but there's one detail that makes me realize there's only one person it can be.</p><p>Champ. A loving nickname given to me by my mother when I was a child. My real mother, not the one from my fake backstory here in this world, but the one from before all of this, before I ended up stranded in the void. A nickname that no being should have known, one that even I barely remembered.</p><p>A being that calls you by your childhood name, knows the Tenno, and could conceivably fuck with the Game? One candidate stood out.</p><p>"The Man in the Wall," I say out loud.</p><p>My only answer is three heavy beats against the wall, echoing through the throne room. Which is enough confirmation for me.</p><p>The Man in the Wall, the personification of the Void in the Warframe universe. I feel like cursing at the developers for being so stingy with information about him, as I know basically nothing. He's creepy but hasn't been actively harmful. Though he hasn't been very helpful either. It's mostly just the creepy thing honestly. He takes on your appearance and voice to talk to you and calls you by a childhood nickname. Why? No idea.</p><p>He was sealed for a while, to protect the Tenno. As the seal started to break down, there was a noise associated with a place he started to manifest in. Rap-tap-tap. Three taps, just like the ones I heard now.</p><p>The fact that he was sealed would make you think that he's dangerous and an enemy, but it was never explained what caused them to fear him, and he's been on relatively good behavior since being unsealed.</p><p>Which means that here and now, with confirmation that he's watching me...I really don't know how to feel about it.</p><p>"I don't suppose you want to come out and have a talk?" I ask the empty room. I wait for a moment, in complete silence. I turn around, scanning the room to make sure he hasn't silently appeared somewhere.</p><p>When I don't see him, I sigh. Either he can't or won't show himself, and there's no way for me to tell. I instead go back to checking out my skills, a proverbial eye over my shoulder to make sure he doesn't sneak up on me.</p><p>[Void Cloak] is good. It's very good. A little annoying that I got a spell that provides invisibility and intangibility right when I maxed out [Fade], but whatever. It's expensive though. Right now I can only keep it up for two and a half seconds, and something tells me a potion isn't going to be enough for me to cheese it out entirely. Considering how powerful intangibility is though, it doesn't surprise me that it's so expensive. I'll just have to be smart about how I use it.</p><p><strong>[Void Travel] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Step through the space between everything to reach anywhere. Variable MP cost</strong></p><p>Is this what I think it is? Finally, a way to teleport long distances? If I weren't so spooked by The Man in the Wall, I would be dancing in joy. No more needing to get Devils to chauffeur me places. I'd try it out right now, but I don't want my first use of it to be in a dungeon. Or be so close to The Man in the Wall. I doubt he would interfere with it, but his presence makes me nervous. He's too much of an unknown.</p><p>I'm also reminded of the dream I had. The way I stepped forward into nothingness to appear behind Kokabiel. That was this skill, wasn't it? Another reminder of the dream kills my already poor mood, and it's hard to get excited over such a cool skill with that hanging over my head.</p><p>That's all I really got from my level-ups. [Void Edge] also got a lot of XP, but didn't max out and is instead sitting at level 93. [Sleight of Hand] is also at a very high 94, but considering I pretty much only killed things with single backstabs with my knife covered in [Void Edge], not much else improved significantly.</p><p>I send a mental message to Yua to let Asia know that I'll be a bit longer. I plan on clearing this dungeon of all the loot it has before leaving.</p><hr/><p>We arrive back at my apartment two hours later. Visiting all the rooms with hidden chests and opening them all took longer than clearing them. But considering the loot I got, it was very much worth it. Hell, the crafting ingredients alone were worth it. I got a decent number of a wide range of ingredients perfect for potions. I didn't get enough to grind out some potion levels, but I did get enough to make a handful of a bunch of different kinds of potions. I also got a handful of useful Moderate Potions and Poisons.</p><p>The minor loot I got was pretty good too. Two more wands for Yua, two more scrolls, and a couple weapons. I also got three new accessories that I fed to my Omni-Ring, one that lets me sense blood, one that lets me breathe underwater, and another one that prevents fall damage. In addition to that, I got a bunch of heart crystals of all sizes, including 4 Large and Super Heart Crystals. I'll figure out how I want to spend those later.</p><p>I also found a whopping 7 Gacha tokens, but like the Heart Crystals, I'll deal with that in a second. Because those aren't the most interesting things I got.</p><p>First are the <em>five</em> new skills I picked up.</p><p><strong>[Hypnotize] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Lock gazes with someone to put them into a suggestible state. Costs 1,000 MP. Effectiveness is based on the difference in WIS and skill level.</strong></p><p><strong>[Glide] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Allows you to glide instead of fall when active. Glide ratio increases with skill level. Costs 100 SP/s</strong></p><p><strong>[Speak with Animals] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Understand what animals are saying.</strong></p><p><strong>[Hemokinesis] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Control blood by moving and shaping it. Costs 150 MP/s</strong></p><p><strong>[Empathy] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Passively get a sense of a person's emotions. Works better when focusing on them.</strong></p><p>There's a lot of potential in those skills. One of them I can use immediately, by combining it with a useless skill I already have.</p><p><strong>Skills [Clean Blood] and [Hemokinesis] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/></strong> <strong>[Hemomancy] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Blood magic. Completely control blood, create or erase it, and use it for magical effects. MP cost varies.</strong></p><p>That's what I'm talking about. Now instead of one useless skill and one moderately useful skill, I have one very nice skill that does everything both of them did and more. Some of the other skills can probably also be combined, but I decide to hold off. None of them would mix as well as that, and it's better to wait for better ones.</p><p>I also got three more Treasure Maps, all pointing to various locations around the world where valuables are stashed away. I set them aside for now though. Soon I'll go around and clean them out, but for now, I have too many things to do.</p><p>I also got some neat items, a couple of them sexual.</p><p>
  <strong>Sanctified Whip<br/>A whip made of leather that has been blessed. Used by hunters to slay evil, this whip does 3x DEX Holy damage</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Shadow Cloak<br/>A cloak that provides little defense but allows the wearer to blend in with shadows</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Real Dick Strapon<br/>A strapon that provides an authentic dick experience. Dick feels completely real to the touch and provides real stimulation to the wearer. It can even cum real semen matching the genetic code of the wearer!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Shapeshifting Cup<br/>Changes shape depending on what liquid is placed inside it. Volume doesn't change, only appearance.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Shrine Maiden Plush<br/>A plush of a shrine maiden with black hair. Looks vaguely familiar.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Slave Roleplay Collar<br/>A collar that forces the wearer to obey orders. Can easily be taken off by the wearer, no matter the order given to them.</strong>
</p><p>Nothing super useful, but I'm looking forward to using the collar, and the Shrine Maiden plush looks a bit like Akeno, it'll make a good gift for her. Speaking of gifts though, don't I have another plush in my inventory?</p><p>"Asia," I call out, catching her attention. She's immediately gone back to the plants and is growing them again, and now at a much higher rate, considering the XP she earned just from being in my party.</p><p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 38[43%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 430 (4 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1720 (52 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 420 (4 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 43<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 42<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 41<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 86<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 135<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 89<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 44</strong></p><p>Her MP regen is still slow enough that she can't use [Green Thumb] non-stop, but she can do a lot more now.</p><p>I pull out the plush mouse toy I have in my inventory, styled after some mascot I didn't recognize. "Here. I have a gift for you."</p><p>Her eyes widen as she walks over to me. "Really?"</p><p>I nod and hand her the plush. "Now you have someone to hold on to and keep you company if I'm not around for some reason."</p><p>She looks a little nervous. "Is- is that likely to happen?" she asks.</p><p>"Not if I can help it," I deny. "But sometimes things come up where it'll be safer if I leave you with someone else while I go to a dangerous place, like today where I left you in the safe room. Whenever that happens, just hug that doll tightly and think of me, okay?"</p><p>She nods, clutching the doll in question tightly in her arms. "Okay Axton." She takes her new plush and goes back to the flower pots. She seems to be enjoying herself, smiling as she watches the plants grow before her eyes. Good, I'm glad she's enjoying it, especially since it's providing me more ingredients and leveling up [Mentor].</p><p>Speaking of level-ups, I look back at Yua, who's curled up on the couch, sleeping.</p><p><strong>Yua<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Feline<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 100[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 2020 (40 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1010 (20 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 1010 (20 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 101<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 101<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 201<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 101<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 101<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 203<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 109</strong></p><p>It looks like she hit a level cap of 100, and I'm convinced it's the fact that she's still a 'normal' cat that's the issue. I half hoped that reaching level 100 would trigger an evolution, but that didn't seem to be the case. Which means I'll have to figure out something for her or stop taking her into combat.</p><p>That's something I'll have to figure out later though. I turn back to sorting through my loot, as there are still a few more things left. Some very nice things.</p><p>
  <strong>Unique Class Unlocked<br/>See Class Selection screen to see it</strong>
</p><p>Another Unique Class that I can't see, though I'm a lot closer to being able to see it than I was last time.</p><p><strong>INT Crystal<br/></strong> <strong>Increases INT by 10</strong></p><p>Nice. I use it immediately. 10 isn't a huge amount at this point, but free stats are free stats. Now I finally get to the two pieces of loot dropped by the boss. One is the Crafting Skill Gem I expected, which I'll use later, and the other one is unexpected, but fitting the dungeon I just cleared.</p><p>
  <strong>Companion Gem(Sakuya Izayoi)<br/>Crush to summon Sakuya Izayoi to your side. Does not bind them to you, use at your own risk.</strong>
</p><p>Sakuya Izayoi, the time-stopping maid. She's not only powerful but a damn good maid too. I'm tempted to summon her right now, but I hold off. There's no room in this tiny apartment for a third person. I'm going to have to look into getting better housing soon. The dungeons have given me a lot of money, I'm nearing a million yen. But that's only like $10,000, not nearly enough to buy a house. Maybe I should use those treasure maps and that Thief's Compass sooner rather than later.</p><p>Something to think about for later. For now, I have 7 more Gacha to spin.</p><p>
  <strong>SCP-055<br/>This is umm. It's uhh... It's not round?</strong>
</p><p>Well, first off, it's terrifying that SCP's are in the gacha. The fact that I pulled this one is insane though. That's staying in my inventory, forever. No anti-memetics for me, thank you. I'm honestly surprised the Game can't analyze it. Unless it's just trying to be funny.</p><p>
  <strong>Chloranthy Ring<br/>Increases SP Regen by 1% per second</strong>
</p><p>Nice. I actually don't feed this one immediately to my Omni-Ring. My SP Regen is more than enough for my current skills, and an SP regen measured in 'per second' is faster than anyone else's who isn't me, so this could be better suited for an ally.</p><p>
  <strong>The Heart<br/>A heart repaired with clockwork and magic. It whispers secrets about the area or about the person you are focusing on with the voice of an assassinated Empress.</strong>
</p><p>My eyes widen, and I immediately pull the Heart out. It's exactly as I remember seeing it, a human heart with clockwork and other steampunk looking technology worked into it. It looks grotesque, but it feels….comfortable. Familiar. Out of curiosity, I squeeze it lightly.</p><p>"<em>This is an idyllic town by day, but at night monsters roam. But you know this. After all, you are one of them.</em>"</p><p>The familiar voice whispered gently into my ear. It was a bit judgemental perhaps, but accurate. I give it another go.</p><p>"<em>There is a girl who spies on her neighbors, seeking inspiration for her art. She has seen great success lately, and feels no remorse for her voyeurism.</em>"</p><p>Both vague and very specific. Neat. This time, I aim it at Asia, wondering what sort of secrets the Heart has to say about her.</p><p>"<em>Poor girl. She is the goose that lays the golden eggs and her cage may change size and shape, but still, she can only look beyond its bars and long for freedom.</em>"</p><p>I frown. Nothing new learned, but the Heart seemed to be implying she's still caged. Does she feel caged? She doesn't seem to mind me sticking close, and I'm trying to protect her because she's still in danger. Whatever. Mood ruined, I stuff the Heart back into my inventory and use another Gacha token.</p><p>
  <strong>Imaginary Porn Tablet<br/>A tablet that can provide porn of any type or subject manner. Real videos, animations, text, everything that can be displayed on a tablet. Porn does not have to exist to be displayed. Can be of real people.</strong>
</p><p>Oooh. Now, this is interesting. I pull it out and turn it on. A simple logo of a heart with a ring around it appears briefly before a search box appears. On a whim, I type in 'Serafall Leviathan' and select pictures as the type.</p><p>Instantly the screen fills up with pictures of Serafall. Far too many. I use a menu in the top right to filter down my search using keywords, and soon I'm left with a screen filled with pictures of Serafall in a skimpy version of her magical girl outfit that doesn't actually cover anything, posing sexily and covered in cum. Nice.</p><p>I favorite a couple of them before I put the tablet away. Old me would have loved it for his masturbation sessions, but I don't need that anymore. Still, there are a few ways to have fun with that I could think of, so I hold on to it for now. I have three more Gacha tokens to use in the meantime.</p><p>
  <strong>Companion Gem(Kuro Usagi)<br/>Crush to summon Kuro Usagi to your side. Does not bind them to you, use at your own risk.</strong>
</p><p>Another Mondaiji girl, and a good friend of Leticia. Summoning both of them at the same time will either make them like me more or be angrier at me, depending on how the summoning works. Either way, I can't summon them now. If I keep getting companion gems at this rate though, I'll need a mansion, not just a house.</p><p>
  <strong>Auto Shuffling Playing Cards<br/>A pack of playing cards that shuffle themselves when placed in their container</strong>
</p><p>I guess they can't all be absolutely amazing. I didn't have much use for a pack of cards, but it's not like I have a limit on my inventory space, so whatever. One more left.</p><p>
  <strong>Ring of Spell Storing<br/>A ring that can store up to five spell uses in it. Stored spells can be cast instantly with no mana cost.</strong>
</p><p>Oh? This is very good, either for emergency use for myself, or to give to an ally. I'll have to experiment with it and see what its limits are.</p><p>With no more loot to sift through and no more gacha tokens to use, I take just a moment to collect my thoughts and relax. Which is when I look at my phone and notice I missed some messages.</p><p>One is from Sona, confirming that she'd get the process of enrolling Asia started and telling me that Kiyome dropped off the letter of introduction to the Youkai and I can grab it from the Student Council Room when I get a chance. I send her a quick reply, thanking her.</p><p>Two more are from Atsuko and Aika, both asking me why I'm out. I respond to those quickly, letting them know there was some business I had to take care of today. Which reminds me that I told them all of us could hang out tomorrow. We can still do that, but with Asia there it won't be as 'fun'. Another thing to figure out later, though I'm beginning to not like how many things I'm placing on the 'figure out later' pile.</p><p>The last text message is from Rias, asking me to come over to the clubroom during lunch to talk about something. Most likely another recruitment attempt, which is fine by me. I send her a response and let her know I'll be there shortly.</p><p>"Okay Asia, I think I've done the training I need to do today," I say as I get up and walk over to her. "A friend wants to talk to me, so we're going to head over there." I look down at the plants and whistle. "Wow, you really got some work done."</p><p>Only six ginseng plants were piled on the floor nearby, but I saw five more growing in pots, and the rest of the pots were filled with short stems of plants I didn't immediately recognize. It'd be worth leveling Asia up for the gardening she could get done alone.</p><p>She smiles up at me from where she's kneeling on the floor. "It's a lot of fun. I've healed a lot of people, but caring for plants like this is a new experience."</p><p>I pat her on the head. "I'm glad you're having fun," I tell her. I scoop down and add the ginseng to my inventory. "It's certainly very helpful to me. But come on, wash up and we'll get going. We'll have lunch there." She nods, brushing the dirt off of her hands and going to wash her hands.</p><p>As I wait for her, my mind wanders, wondering what Rias will try today. With Asia there, she won't be able to be as explicit as she was that one time, but that only makes me more curious. I suppose I'll find out soon though.</p><hr/><p>The walk to Kuoh Academy is uneventful. There aren't many people on the streets in this part of town, especially as we get closer to the school. I point out a few landmarks to Asia as we pass them, and she asks me questions about all sorts of things and I explain them to her as best I can.</p><p>"Welcome to Kuoh Academy," I say when we arrive at the front gates. "Starting next week, you'll be a student here alongside me."</p><p>"It's so big!" she says as she stares at the school. "I'm really going to go here too?"</p><p>"It's being arranged as we speak," I tell her. I look at the time. "The tour will have to wait for later. Come on, there's a building around the back a little ways away, that's where we're headed."</p><p>It's only a few more minutes of walking to arrive at the Occult Research Club room. I don't bother knocking and just head directly in, feeling the presence of all four of the members already inside with [Void Detect].</p><p>Rias smiles at me as I enter, no doubt having been notified of my arrival by the wards surrounding the place. "Axton!" She greets me as we walk over to the sitting area. "Thank you for coming so quickly." She turns to Asia. "And you must be Asia. I'm sorry for what you've been through, but I hope your time here is better."</p><p>Asia smiles. "Thank you."</p><p>Rias turns back to me. "Have you eaten yet? I have some lunch prepared over there if you would like." She indicates the far side of the room, where Kiba and Koneko are eating.</p><p>"We have not," I answer. I place a hand on Asia's shoulder. "Why don't you go eat? Let me and Rias talk in private a little and then we'll join you."</p><p>I can feel that she's nervous with [Empathy], most likely at the thought of going to interact with two people she doesn't know, but nods. "Okay, Axton."</p><p>As she goes to where the food was, I sit down across from Rias and Akeno, keeping an eye on Asia with my detection skills. "So what did you need to talk to me about?" I ask.</p><p>"Well firstly, I was wondering if you had given any more thought to joining my peerage," she starts. Her expression is confident, almost smug, which strikes me as odd. I check with [Empathy], trying to get a sense for it, but the skill is too low level, and all I get is a vague sense of confidence, though there's some nervousness there as well that she's hiding.</p><p>"I have," I lie. "Your arguments were very tempting, but I'm still unsure. I very much enjoy my freedom, and I'm undecided on whether or not the benefits you described are worth it."</p><p>"That's understandable," she replies, and I have to stop myself from narrowing my eyes at how casual and accepting of it she is. Her confidence hasn't changed either. So she expected that answer but she has some sort of plan? She continues. "Last time I tried to convince you, I mentioned an event coming up that I need a stronger peerage for, correct?"</p><p>"I was a little distracted at the time, but I remember you saying that yes," I answer. I use [Erotic Pierrot] on both of them as I do. It's unlikely that things will get very sexy this time with her peerage and Asia in plain view, but I want them to remember how things went last time, and I want them to get horny just remembering it.</p><p>Between the light feedback I get from [Erotic Pierrot], the vague feedback I get from [Empathy], and the more specific feedback I get from [Lewd Scouter], I can pretty accurately determine how aroused someone is, and I can tell it's working. Akeno's smile widens just a touch, and Rias blushes ever so slightly.</p><p>"Well, the timetable has moved up faster than I expected," Rias says, keeping the conversation on track. I feel her arousal plummet when she does so though, and [Empathy] picks up a little bit of annoyance and disgust. Dammit Riser, stop cockblocking me. "And with my current peerage, things will be a little difficult for me."</p><p>"And I <em>have</em> to be in your peerage to help?" I ask. "Because I'll gladly help out any way I can, but that's a pretty long term commitment just to help you out once."</p><p>She looks thoughtful for a moment, perhaps considering ways to get me to help without being in her peerage, but she shakes her head. "It wouldn't be allowed, and if I somehow got permission, it could cause problems down the line, and some parties might be upset at the inclusion of an outsider. There are also logistical issues."</p><p>"I see," I say, translating the vague answers she's giving me using my metaknowledge. Riser might throw a fit if Rias wins by bending the rules. I'm not sure what she means by logistical issues though. "In that case, if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."</p><p>"There is something," Rias says, and her body language and emotions suddenly shift. She was waiting for an opportunity like this. "I would love to have you in my peerage, but I need any sort of edge I can get for the upcoming event, so I plan on asking the person I had my eye on before you arrived, a Sacred Gear wielder who attends this school."</p><p>Ah, so that's what this is about. "You want to recruit Atsuko," I say.</p><p>She seems genuinely surprised. "I do, yes. How did you know?"</p><p>"According to the information the Fallen had collected, besides myself, she's the only known unaffiliated Sacred Gear holder in Kuoh," I explain. "Also, you're talking to me instead of the person. Which I'm guessing is because you didn't want to invite her into the supernatural world, change her race, and make her part of your peerage without at least getting my opinion on it. Which I appreciate. It would be a little shocking if one of my girlfriends went from mundane human to a Devil overnight."</p><p>"That is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about," Rias replies, getting herself back on track. "With my time running out, and since I can't be sure I'll have your assistance in time, I don't have many options. But as you said, I didn't want to do this behind your back, and I wanted to give you a chance to state your opinion on it."</p><p>I note that she's very careful about making sure it's clear that she's not asking for my permission without saying it directly. I check out her emotions again. That confidence from earlier is back. What reaction does she expect from me? I have my suspicions, but it also doesn't seem like her style.</p><p>Still, this is a scenario I've already imagined, and I have a reply ready for her very quickly. "I appreciate the thought, and I would like to be there when you explain things to her and invite her into your peerage. I think it would make her more comfortable."</p><p>Again I feel a flare of surprise from her that is strong enough to be obvious to my still low level [Empathy]. I also feel it from Akeno, though not as strongly.</p><p>"I don't see a problem with that," Rias says slowly. I can basically see the gears turning in her head as she tries to figure out where to go from here. "You don't have any objections to her joining my peerage?"</p><p>"Nah," I answer casually. "I was thinking of telling her about the supernatural stuff I'm involved with anyways, and her becoming a Devil, especially one in your peerage, will make her safer. Plus, I think she's well suited for life as a Devil."</p><p>"I see," Rias says, frowning a little. I mentally shake my head in disappointment. Her poker face is so fragile. Akeno looks totally unphased though, and she has the same small smile she started this conversation with.</p><p>"Do you want me to text her to ask her to come here after classes?" I offer. "Or would you prefer to invite her yourself?"</p><p>She looks unsure but then shakes her head. "I'll ask Kiba to go get her when classes end." She looks at me, curiosity on her face. "Do you know anything about her Sacred Gear?"</p><p>Oh boy do I. But I have no way of knowing it or proving it. "Not really. The information the Fallen had on it was pretty sparse. They weren't sure what it was. They thought it was draconic in nature, but they couldn't pick up much more than that."</p><p>She sighs in disappointment. "That's roughly as much as we've figured out as well. We'll have to find out the old fashioned way I guess." She looks at the clock on the wall. "Sona mentioned you were skipping school today so you could watch over Asia before she's enrolled. If you would like, you could spend some time here, with us, until classes end."</p><p>Hmm. I did want to do some more training, but spending time with them could be good as well, and short of hopping back into the dungeon, without stocking up on Alchemy ingredients there's not much else I can do today. Though there is one thing I can do here.</p><p>"Sure, I can stick around," I answer. "This is a good chance to do that baking with Koneko I said I would do. Do you have the ingredients on hand here, or should I go run out and grab some?"</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/>+7 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/>[Fiery Hot] - Increases Affection gain with redheads by 20%</strong>
</p><p>"That's a great idea," Rias exclaims. I can feel love and joy coming from both of them. I guess they're glad I remembered my promise with Koneko and am making good on it? "I'll send my familiars to go pick up whatever you need while we eat lunch together."</p><p>"Works for me," I say with a shrug. I quickly write up a list of the ingredients I'll need and hand them to her. I feel her familiar, in its bat form, teleport into the room. It takes the list from Rias, who doesn't even look at it, and flies out of the building, heading for Kuoh.</p><p>As we go to get up, I remember the doll I got this morning. "Oh right, Akeno." She looks at me, curious. "I found this doll this morning, and it reminded me of you, and I wanted to give it to you." I pull out the shrine maiden plus and hand it to her.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p><p>I can feel surprise from her, and another warm feeling. Gratitude maybe? "Thank you, Axton, that's very thoughtful of you." She smiles at me, and there's genuine cheer in it. Rias also feels pretty happy. I look at Akeno's Affection. It's at 46 right now, so close to 50. I could use one of the Heart Crystals I got this morning. In fact, it's my last chance to do so before she goes beyond 50 and I can't anymore. But I hold off for now, there's no rush.</p><p>Instead, I sit down and cheerfully eat lunch with all of them, though half of my mind is miles away planning and organizing. I have so much to do, and I have an unclear amount of time to do it in.</p><hr/><p>After lunch, Rias and Akeno sat down in her office to talk strategy.</p><p>"He called your bluff," Akeno said, a teasing grin on her face.</p><p>Rias sighed. "He did. He wasn't pressured into joining at all to 'protect' her. He didn't even protest. I thought he would be more against it, considering how stubborn he's being."</p><p>"I think we miscalculated," Akeno commented with a small look of regret. "He never had anything against Devils or being one, he's just free-spirited. We did too good of a job selling him on the idea of being a Devil though, and Hyoudou being turned into one is a good thing in his eyes, even if it means she has split loyalties."</p><p>Rias frowned. "Do you think that will be an issue for us?"</p><p>Akeno's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe. It could be of course, but that's the case for any peerage that has a member in a relationship with someone outside of that peerage. If things go poorly, it could get messy. But Axton is level-headed and has been on good terms with us so far, so realistically it might not be an issue."</p><p>"Hopefully that will be the case," Rias said. "It's a shame he didn't know anything more about Atsuko's Sacred Gear."</p><p>"That's to be expected though when he didn't even know about Sacred Gears at all until that business with those pests," Akeno reasoned.</p><p>"I know," Rias admitted. "I'm just nervous. Hyoudou's magic is so weak, and if her Sacred Gear isn't very good, it might not be enough to beat Riser in a rating game. Especially with so little time."</p><p>"How much time do we have?" Akeno asked.</p><p>"Not long," Rias answered. "I can't say exactly how long, but he's getting very pushy. He's under the impression that if he gives me too much time, I'll find a way to slip out of the contract."</p><p>"Well, he's right in thinking that," Akeno pointed out. Rias gave her Queen a dirty look, and Akeno sighed. "So are we still going to be working on Axton?"</p><p>"I think we should, yes," Rias said. "I wasn't lying when I said I'd love to have him in my peerage, even without the rating game. And I don't think our chances of convincing him are very high, but we can keep trying. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with him on my side."</p><p>"Mmm, he is very comfy," Akeno mused with a smirk. "I'll have to step up my efforts."</p><p>Rias frowned. "Akeno...please don't do anything you'll regret if he doesn't join. I appreciate that you're willing to go this far, but it's not worth selling you out."</p><p>Akeno smiled fondly at her oldest friend and King. "Don't worry Rias. I won't do anything I won't enjoy. You just give me a chance and he'll be putty in my hands."</p><p>Rias sighed, still unsure, but she began to think. Soon, she came up with a plan. "You know that water park just outside of town? They're usually closed this time of year, but I can get it opened just for us. We'll call it a celebration for Atsuko joining us. That should be all the chance you need, right? What better than getting him alone in a bikini?"</p><p>Akeno grinned. "Oh, that is very good. You've come so far in your journey of learning the art of seduction."</p><p>Rias blushed and looked away. "I don't appreciate the teasing Akeno." Akeno's only response was a small laugh.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Akeno Himejima<br/>[Pleasure and Pain] - Increases Affection gain with sadists and masochists by 20%</strong>
</p><p>It's a struggle to contain my smirk. After listening to their conversation using [Sound Domain] I changed my mind and used a Large Heart Crystal on Akeno, bringing her up to 61 Affection. The higher her Affection, the more I'm going to enjoy what happens later today. A water park huh? I admit, the girls of the Occult Research Club in bikinis sounds pretty nice, especially when Atsuko is among their number. And Asia will likely be with us too. Good thinking Rias, I approve.</p><p>It was also nice to confirm that Rias was attempting to manipulate me into joining by going after Atsuko. I wasn't sure because it seemed like too good of an idea for her. She either gets me, or she gets Atsuko, or she gets us both. In almost every scenario, she came out ahead, even if only a little.</p><p>There was the chance that I got mad and it soured relations between us, but Rias had a good enough read on me to realize that wouldn't happen. I can't even be annoyed that she's trying to manipulate me since I'm manipulating her into manipulating me. Instead, I'm just impressed.</p><p>"Axton," Asia calls out to me, bringing my attention back to the kitchen. "The timer is about to go off."</p><p>"Right," I say. "Koneko, grab an oven mitt- oh you're already wearing it. Good. When the timer goes off, remove the tray from the oven and place it on the cooling rack."</p><p>It's just me, Asia, and Koneko in the kitchen. Rias and Akeno are upstairs and Kiba actually went back to class like a good student. I'm currently directing the two girls on how to make the cookies rather than doing it myself. Interestingly enough, it was still leveling my skill, though the cookies weren't getting the benefit of it. Why one applied but the other didn't I'm not sure, but free XP is free XP.</p><p>And free Affection is also nice. I've already gained 16 Affection with Koneko with this. 8 when I told her I had time to do it now if she wanted, and another 8 when the first batch finished.</p><p>A few seconds later the timer dings and Koneko has the oven open and the cookie tray in hand in a flash. But once she has it in hand, she very carefully moves it to the cooling tray. Asia closes the oven door behind her.</p><p>Koneko stares at the cookies, waiting for them to cool. The way she's fidgeting, obviously eager to eat them already, is adorable. "Now Koneko, shortbread cookies are better warm rather than hot out of the oven," I tell her. "You can't taste anything if you burn your tongue. Just give it a couple more moments."</p><p>She nods, accepting my words like she had the last time she pulled a batch of cookies out of the oven but doesn't stop staring and fidgeting. I feel a smile form on my face, and I reach out to pat her on the head.</p><p>As my hand comes into contact with her head, we both freeze. Her at my touch, and me realizing what I did. I'd gotten so used to head patting Asia all day that I didn't even think. I pull my hand away. "Sorry, that was just a reflex."</p><p>[Empathy] picks up a complicated mess of emotions from her, too much for me to pick out and identify any of them, but after a moment things settle down on...comfort? I think that's what that feeling is.</p><p>"It's fine," she says. "I don't mind if it's you."</p><p>Koneko that's a dangerous line. But it still makes me smile, and I immediately activate [Touch of Pleasure] and pat her on the head again. This time, the feeling of comfort I'm getting from her increases, and she smiles and leans into a little.</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Koneko Toujo</strong>
</p><p>I keep my hand there for as long as I can, letting [Touch of Pleasure] do its work. I notice Asia getting jealous so I smile and start patting her on the head with my other hand. I use [Erotic Pierrot] on both of them, just a little, and what started as a simple pat turns into me petting the both of them. I half expect to see Koneko's ears pop out, but she manages to keep them in.</p><p>Unfortunately, the timer that Asia set for how long the cookies need to cool goes off, and the allure of cookies is enough to pull Koneko from under my hand and to the cookies. I pull my hand from Asia's head as well and turn off my skills. I notice that Asia looks a little flushed, and her arousal is at moderately low. Maybe she just gets aroused easier?</p><p>I pretend not to notice as I hide a smile. Asia being easier to arouse only makes my plans for her easier.</p><hr/><p>Shortly after classes end, Kiba and Atsuko arrive at the clubroom. I'm sitting at the spot I seem to sit every time I come here, and Rias and Akeno are sitting across from me. Koneko and Asia are across the room, out of earshot talking about something.</p><p>"Axton?" Atsuko exclaims as soon as she sees me. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were busy today?" She approaches the three of us while Kiba breaks off with a nod to Rias and joins the two girls on the other side of the room, giving the four of us some privacy.</p><p>"I was," I explain. "But it only prevented me from going to classes. I'll explain later after Rias here gets a chance to talk to you."</p><p>Atsuko's eyes widen as she looks at Rias and Akeno, the two girls she previously called the most beautiful girls in the school and remembers why she's here. She faces them and bows sharply. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to ignore you I was just so surprised-"</p><p>"It's fine Hyoudou," Rias says with an amused smile. "It's only natural you would greet your boyfriend first, especially when you didn't expect to see him here."</p><p>Atsuko blushes slightly. "Ah. You know about that?"</p><p>"I'm aware of Axton's arrangement, yes," she answers, that amused grin still on her face.</p><p>"Axtooon," Atsuko whines as she sits down with a thump next to me. "You shouldn't be bragging to people about this."</p><p>"First off, why the hell not?" I respond. "I'm pretty excited about consensually dating multiple really great girls, and we're not doing anything to be ashamed of. Second, I didn't tell her. Sona did."</p><p>Her eyes widen. "The Student Council President knows?"</p><p>"The entire Student Council knows," I correct her. "They're a pretty close bunch, and with me dating Momo and now Ruruko, there's no way they wouldn't."</p><p>Atsuko slumps in defeat. "Of course," she says. "Is there anyone else that knows?"</p><p>"There are some intriguing but inconsistent rumors about you guys going around school," Akeno jumps in, grinning. "In some versions, you and Aika have seduced him away from Momo, and in some, it's the other way around. Very few have an accurate grasp of the situation it seems. Whenever it gets brought up, it's usually dismissed because they don't believe that Momo would allow something like that." She tilts her head. "None of them mention Ruruko though."</p><p>"I'm surprised," I comment. "I mean, that's a pretty recent thing, but we went on a fairly public date a few nights ago, and I expected that fact to make its way around the rumor mill." I shrug. "I guess no one saw us."</p><p>Atsuko has her face in her hands. "The entire school is talking about us," she moans in a low voice. But if I know Atsuko, then this is doing more than just embarrassing her. Sure enough, [Lewd Scouter] and [Empathy] show that she's also a little aroused.</p><p>I chuckle and gently pat her back. "There there. If you want, we can make an official statement. That might help fight some of the rumors."</p><p>She just groans. "So uhh. Gremory! Kiba said you wanted to talk to me?" Her eyes flick to me. "Is it related to why Axton is here?"</p><p>"In a way," Rias says, unsure of how to explain things.</p><p>"I'm indirectly related to what she wants to talk to you about," I explain. "But more importantly, you're someone who I care about a great deal, so Rias believed it best if she consulted me and that if I were here to help provide explanations and support for you. This is mostly her thing though."</p><p>Atsuko frowns and looks back and forth between myself, Akeno, and Rias. "This is something serious, isn't it?" I nod. She gulps, and her fists bunch up where they have a grip on her skirt. She faces Rias and Akeno. "Okay."</p><p>Rias seems to be a little caught off guard by Atsuko's sudden switch to seriousness, but quickly finds her feet. "First, I ask that no matter how the conversation ends up going, you'll keep the things you learn here today quiet."</p><p>"Can I tell Aika?" Atsuko immediately asks. Rias's gaze shifts to me, silently asking for my input.</p><p>"Either way, we'll tell her tomorrow, okay?" I promise. Rias narrows her eyes a little, but I shake my head. "It's fine. Like I said, I was thinking of telling them both soon anyway, and Aika can be pretty discreet when she wants to be."</p><p>Rias looks at me a bit longer, before finally nodding. "You can tell Kiryuu. When possible, please refer to either me or Axton when deciding if you can tell a person, but as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't tell anyone who doesn't need to know."</p><p>Atsuko nods, but she looks confused. "Okay, but what is it?"</p><p>Rias takes a deep breath and puts on a confident smile. "The members of the Occult Research Club, myself included, are beings known as Devils."</p><p>Just ripping the bandaid off, huh Rias? Atsuko doesn't respond, but I can feel the confusion from her clearly. "Huh?" she eventually asks.</p><p>Rias continues. "We are a race that lives in the Underworld. We frequently come to Earth in response to summons to make deals with mortals, but many of us also live here. I myself have chosen to attend a human school here in Japan to learn more about this country's culture."</p><p>Unbelievably, this explanation doesn't clear anything up for Atsuko. She looks at me nervously. "Axton, have you gotten involved in some weird roleplay thing?"</p><p>I struggle to not laugh or let my amusement show on my face, and I can feel similar amusement from Akeno. Ignoring her question, because I don't think I can answer it with a straight face, I turn to Rias. "Just show her your wings, she won't believe without seeing something."</p><p>Rias nods, less amused but still reasonably patient. "Right." As one, Akeno and Rias bring out their black and leathery wings that sprout from their lower backs.</p><p>Atsuko jumps in surprise. "I- you- wings?!" I place my hand on her back to help steady her and calm her down, and she looks at me, eyes wide. "Are you…?" she trails off.</p><p>"Nope, I'm a normal human." I pause. "Well, I'm human. Normal is debatable. But I'm not a Devil like they are. I only learned about their existence a little while ago."</p><p>"I- I see," Atsuko says, calming down. "So you guys really aren't human huh? That wasn't a joke?"</p><p>"No, it was not," Rias confirms.</p><p>"What are Devils then?" Atsuko asks.</p><p>Rias smiles. "I'm glad you asked." Rias then gives a brief rundown of Devils, the Fallen, and Heaven. It's not nearly as detailed as the explanation Momo gives me, but it's a decent introduction to things.</p><p>By the end of the explanation, Atsuko looks less lost but still confused. "I just don't get why you're telling me all this?" She glances at me. "I mean, I get why Axton might want to tell me. But I'm not sure why <em>you</em> would."</p><p>"To be blunt, it's because I want you to join my Peerage," Rias answers. "As a Devil, one of the things I can do is reincarnate normal humans, and most other races, and turn them into a Devil as part of my Peerage."</p><p>Atsuko stares blankly at Rias for a moment before turning to me. "Axton. Explain."</p><p>I shrug. "I mean, Rias pretty much said it. She's giving you a chance to join her group and become a Devil. Both of which have their perks, for relatively few downsides. Aside from a weakness to holy things, Devils are overall an improvement on being human. And from what I hear, if you're going to join a Peerage, Rias's Peerage is one of the best you can join in terms of comfort."</p><p>"But I'd be part of her group? Like, forever?" Atsuko asks.</p><p>Rias takes the chance to jump in. "Not forever, not really. You can rise up in the ranks, and if you become a High-Class Devil you can create your own peerage. You'll still technically be part of mine, but it'll be little more than a formality."</p><p>"A lot of Devils use their peerages to make harems as well," I add. Rias looks confused, not sure why I would add that. Akeno does as well, but I can feel the moment the pieces click together for her and she grins slightly.</p><p>Atsuko just glances at me, taking in the new information. "Why aren't you a Devil then?" she asks me.</p><p>"You know how I said it was debatable if I was a 'normal' human?" I said. "Well, for the same reasons that's up to debate, turning into a Devil just doesn't hold as many advantages for me."</p><p>Rias frowns. "I still don't see how that can be the case. Even if you're powerful enough as a human, becoming a Devil would only help your growth."</p><p>"Now's not really the time to do this debate again," I point out, cutting it off early. Rias looks like she wants to continue, but she nods. I turn back to Atsuko. "The short of it is that I'm not a Devil because I'm not sure it's the right thing for me. My skills, which I'll explain to you and Aika tomorrow, give me other options. For most people, becoming a Devil is worth it."</p><p>Atsuko looks like she's not sure what to make of my decision to not become a Devil, but she accepts my words for now. She turns to Rias. "In that case, why me? Is it because of Axton?"</p><p>Rias shakes her head. "No, I actually wanted to recruit you before Axton even came to town. It's because you have something known as a Sacred Gear." Atsuko looks confused, but Rias continues before she can ask. "A Sacred Gear is a power found in some humans. They are born with it, and it's part of their soul. Many of the greatest and most well-known humans in history have wielded Sacred Gears."</p><p>"And I have one of these Sacred thingies?" Atsuko asks. "What can it do?"</p><p>"We're not sure," Rias says. "Yours is still dormant, and while we can sense it, it's hard to get any details. But Sacred Gears are rare, and none of them are bad."</p><p>Atsuko looks at me. "Do you have a Sacred Gear?"</p><p>"We think so," I say. "The nature of it makes it hard to be sure, since it prevents the detection of even itself, but that's our best guess." I indicate the other side of the room with my head. "Kiba has one. And so does Asia, the blonde girl."</p><p>Atsuko looks at the two of them for a moment before turning back to Rias. "So you want me to be part of your peerage because I have a Sacred Gear?"</p><p>"And because I think you would be a good fit," Rias adds. "I treat my Peerage like a family. I wouldn't invite you if I didn't think you didn't have a part in that family."</p><p>"And as family members, we would spend a lot of quality time with each other," Akeno chimes in. "We have quite the lavish home with a nice big bath and some of the biggest beds that can fit multiple people quite comfortably."</p><p>Rias looks a little confused but I just squint my eyes at Akeno. It's obvious what she's doing. She's clued in to Atsuko's bisexuality and is trying to leverage that. Akeno's only response to my glare is to smirk at me before turning her attention back to Atsuko.</p><p>I look at her as well, and she looks a lot more convinced than she did a few minutes ago. But not completely. "What would I have to do as part of your peerage?" she asks, and I'm proud of her for asking a question like that.</p><p>"I'm still young and learning, so I don't have many responsibilities," Rias says. "Sona and I are in charge of this town, and most of our responsibilities revolve around keeping things quiet and peaceful. My Peerage is considered an extension of me, so anything I need to take care of I will rely on you to assist me with. This could be any number of things."</p><p>"And the event you have coming up soon," I add, not letting her leave it out. From the quick look she sends me and the spike of annoyance I feel, she was planning on it.</p><p>"Yes. In the near future, I will likely be involved in what's known in a Rating Game with very important stakes. The only people who can participate are me and my peerage members where we'll face off against another Peerage. That's why I'm approaching you now instead of later."</p><p>Atsuko looks unsure, and once again she turns to me. "Axton? What do you think I should do?"</p><p>I hesitate, thinking over how I should word my answer. "I think that there are valid reasons to join her and not join her. I think you could be happy as a Devil, but more than anything, I think that only you can answer this. I'll give you all the advice you want, and I'll stand by whatever decision you make, but it's one <em>you</em> need to make."</p><p>Atsuko gives me a stern look. "And how do you really feel?"</p><p>I sigh. "I think it would make you safer, which I would appreciate."</p><p>Atsuko frowns. "Is there something that makes me not safe?"</p><p>"Do you remember that weird girl that asked me out on a date a couple weeks ago?" I ask. She nods. "That was actually a Fallen Angel. The 'date' was an attempt to lure me into a false sense of security so she could try to kill me. She had orders to observe and kill any Sacred Gear wielders she found."</p><p>Her eyes widen. "She tried to what?!"</p><p>I shake my head. "Don't worry, she's not a problem anymore."</p><p>Atsuko hesitates. "Did you…?" she trails off suggestively.</p><p>"She's still alive," I say, and Atsuko relaxes a little. "Not all of her friends that were with her are though. But her I managed to restrain before fighting broke out." Atsuko looks at me, surprise leaking out from her. "I offered them a chance to surrender. But they came at me wanting to kill, so I defended myself. I had very few qualms about it after I broke into their base, found their orders, and saw that you were one of their targets as well."</p><p>"Oh," she says in a small voice. "Just because I have a Sacred Gear?"</p><p>"Just because of that," I say. "Joining Rias would offer you political protection since Rias is the heiress to a major family, and being a Devil would make it a lot harder to kill you. So that's why I think you'll be safer as part of her peerage. Because like it or not, you have something that can't be ignored." I shrug. "I mean, I can protect you too, and even train you up to the point of being able to protect yourself. But my method doesn't come with as many benefits as joining Rias does, and most of them don't conflict, so you can benefit from both."</p><p>Atsuko goes quiet as she thinks about things for a while. Rias, Akeno, and I all sit in silence, watching her as she thinks. I can feel the moment where she makes her decision, [Empathy] easily picking up on her determination.</p><p>"I'll do it. I'll join your Peerage, Gremory."</p><p>Rias beams. "Great! But please, if you're going to be part of my family, call me Rias."</p><p>"Yes ma'am!" Atsuko exclaims, the mood having quickly switched from somber to excited. "I mean, yes Rias!" Akeno chuckles, amused at the cuteness of Atsuko. "So uhh. How do I become a Devil?"</p><p>Rias holds out a hand and a magic circle flashes into existence briefly before a wooden case falls into her hands. She opens it up to reveal glittering chess pieces. One knight piece, one bishop, and all eight pawns. "These are my Evil Pieces," Rias explains. "Using them, I can turn you into a Devil. It's a painless process, don't worry. You'll barely feel a thing, besides maybe some fatigue."</p><p>"Okay," Atsuko nods. "I'm ready."</p><p>Rias stands up and approaches Atsuko, case in hand. As she looks at Atsuko, she places a hand over one of the pawn pieces, before frowning. She then places her hand over the second one, and I can feel worry come off of her. But by the third pawn piece, I can feel that worry turn to an excitement that increases with every pawn piece until the seventh one, where fear creeps in.</p><p>I'm not worried though, and sure enough, as she grabs the eighth and final pawn piece, relief floods off of her as she gets the assurance that she has enough pieces to reincarnate her. Atsuko and I watch as the eight pawns swirl together to form a single pawn piece. Rias then slowly shoves that piece against Atsuko's chest, where it sinks into her.</p><p>Atsuko's eyes widen as she watches it and she tenses, waiting for something. But nothing happens, nothing visible at least. My vague sense of magic indicates a small shift, and she feels more like Rias and Akeno now. I use [Observe] on her to be sure.</p><p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 8<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 220<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 80<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 240<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 11<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 12<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 10<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 4<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 5<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 55<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 30</strong></p><p>Her HP, MP, and SP have definitely been boosted, but only by double. Her MP is still lower than the average human though.</p><p>"Did- did it work?" she asks, hesitantly. "I don't feel any different."</p><p>"You've definitely changed," I comment.</p><p>"It will take some time for the effects to fully settle in," Rias explains. "The Evil Pieces change your soul, and since you're still alive, it will take some time for your body to catch up. Devils are naturally nocturnal, so over the next week or so you may be tired during the day and energetic at night as your body catches up."</p><p>"Heh, energetic at night," she repeats with a grin before realizing what she said. "Uhh, I mean yeah okay. I can deal with that. What now?"</p><p>"Well now you're part of my Peerage and the Occult Research Club," Rias says, excited. "Over the next few days you should relax as the changes settle in, but for today we're going to celebrate and get to know each other a little better by visiting a water park!" She looks at me. "And that includes you and Asia as well, of course."</p><p>"Sure, sounds fun," I say, suppressing my grin. I look at Atsuko. "This is a perfect chance for you to use that swimsuit you picked up the other week."</p><p>Atsuko looks confused for a moment before she remembers what I'm talking about, the skimpy swimsuit she tried on before accidentally flashing me. She blushes and looks down. "But that's, I don't have that on me. That's at home."</p><p>I turn to Akeno, knowing I'll have an ally in her. "Surely you don't mind giving her a quick lift home so she can grab a swimsuit, right?"</p><p>Akeno grins, and I can tell she knows roughly what's happening, even if she hasn't seen the swimsuit in question. "Oh no, that wouldn't be a problem at all. In fact, we were planning on it already."</p><p>"Axtooon," she whines again.</p><p>I smile and wrap my arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry Atsuko, that swimsuit is extremely cute on you, and no one here will mind." I lower my voice a little. "And you get to see everyone else in their swimsuits too."</p><p>If I thought she was significantly embarrassed, I wouldn't be trying to convince her like this. But [Empathy] and [Lewd Scouter] both make it clear that she's more aroused than embarrassed.</p><p>"I guess that would be fine then," she admits. "I did buy it after all. It would be a waste to not use it."</p><p>"That's my girl," I praise her. She blushes a little more but smiles. I turn to Rias. "Speaking of swimsuits, I don't think Asia has one."</p><p>"They sell them at the water park, we can pick one out for her there," Rias reassures me.</p><p>"In that case, we're ready to go," I say. Rias nods and she and Akeno go over to the others to explain what's happening. Today was turning out to be a pretty damn good day.</p><hr/><p>It's strange being in a large indoor water park with just six other people. There was entirely too much to do and not enough people to fill it up. Still, not having to deal with said people was nice. No lines for anything, and we could let loose as much as we wanted without having to worry about disturbing others.</p><p>All seven of us spent some time swimming together and playing games, but after an hour or so, everyone naturally split up to explore the park and check out what they wanted to do. Kiba and Koneko are checking out the big water slides, Rias and Akeno have disappeared somewhere, and Atsuko and Asia are just splashing in the water, talking to each other.</p><p>I introduced Atsuko to Asia, telling her I'd fill her in on Asia's situation tomorrow, so I could tell her and Aika at the same time, but the two bonded pretty quickly nevertheless. Not that surprising honestly. Asia is adorable and Atsuko latched on to that pretty quickly. And Asia is just sweet and so lonely that she makes friends with just about anyone.</p><p>I watch them a little as they talk. Atsuko is wearing her somewhat skimpy bikini. At first, she was very nervous as she came out of the changing room. But it didn't take long at all for her to calm down, and now I don't think she even gave it a single thought.</p><p>Asia, on the other hand, is wearing a more modest one-piece swimsuit that Atsuko helped pick out for her. It's an off-white color and it's not very revealing, though the neckline does drop enough to show a bit of cleavage.</p><p>The two are so caught up in talking to each other that neither notices when I leave after seeing Akeno around a corner, beckoning me over as she slips out of sight.</p><p>Akeno silently leads me to an out of the way corner, where Rias is already waiting. It looks like there are going to be some seduction attempts anyway. I make sure to fire up [Erotic Pierrot] and start bumping up their arousal a little and I turn on [Touch of Pleasure] to a low level. As I approach them, I take in the sight of the two busty beauties in their bikinis.</p><p>Both are wearing black two pieces that ride the line between sexy and slutty. Both wear simple but small bottoms that tie on the side, but their tops differ. Akeno is wearing a fairly standard bikini top, albeit one that looks a size or two too small. Rias on the other hand is wearing something fancier. A thin loop of fabric held supported two strips of swimsuit material that traveled down her breasts nearly vertically where they looped behind her back right below the bottom of her breasts. It left all of her cleavage and side boobs exposed and I appreciate the sight.</p><p>Knowing that Rias is an exhibitionist and that they're both trying to seduce me, I don't bother holding back as I check them out. "Did I mention earlier how good the two of you look in those swimsuits?" I ask out loud. "Because <em>damn</em>."</p><p>"You didn't say anything, but the whistle you let out got the point across," Rias replies with a smirk.</p><p>"So, is there a reason you've invited me here, away from the others?" I ask. Akeno moves from where she's standing next to Rias and comes over to me.</p><p>"We just wanted to thank you for helping convince Atsuko to join my peerage," Rias says, her voice becoming sultry. Akeno makes her way behind me and wraps her arms around me. I feel her boobs press against my back. "Think of this as a little sign of our appreciation."</p><p>I ramp up [Erotic Pierrot] on both of them. I hear a rustling behind me as I speak. "Not that I don't enjoy this sort of thing, but I feel like I should point out that I didn't do much at all."</p><p>"Nonsense," Rias denies as I feel Akeno pull herself off of my back a little. There's more rustling cloth. "It's obvious that your desire for her safety was a major influence on her choice to join me."</p><p>Akeno presses up against me, but this time I don't feel any fabric between us, just the hot flesh of her tits and the hard points of her nipples pushing into my back. Something must show on my face because Rias's grin becomes just slightly bigger.</p><p>"That's most likely true," I accede as I increase the strength of [Touch of Pleasure] a little bit. Akeno pulls closer to me, her chin resting on my shoulder and her arms wrapping around my waist. Her hands settle on the bottom of my stomach, right at the top of my swimsuit.</p><p>"And so, we want to show you a little appreciation," Rias repeats. Akeno's hands go lower, finding my semi-erect cock and gently running her hands along it, over my swimsuit.</p><p>"Just a little?" I say, struggling to keep my demeanor casual even as I stiffen considerably under Akeno's touch.</p><p>"Maybe more than a little," Rias admits. "I don't think you understand how much another peerage member means to me. Especially someone worth 8 pawn pieces."</p><p>Oh Rias, you don't know the half of it. "Well, if you insist, I certainly won't stop you," I say, and that seems to be all Akeno was waiting for. In a flash, my swimming trunks, which were barely containing my erection anyways, are pushed down enough to leave me completely exposed.</p><p>Rias looks a little surprised but tries to hide it. Even without [Empathy] I'd be able to see through the act though. Then it becomes a little hard to focus as Akeno starts to slowly stroke my dick.</p><p>"Mmm, you're a big boy aren't you?" Akeno says directly into my ear.</p><p>"That's what all the ladies say," I quip. I increase the effect of [Touch of Pleasure] as her strokes increase in speed. Rias has her eyes glued on my dick, and I make sure I keep [Erotic Pierrot] working on her as well. I also go ahead and use [Alter Flavor] to change the flavor of my semen to chocolate.</p><p>"I bet," Akeno breathes into my ear. "How many girls have you used this on? How many have you split open and rutted them until they screamed your name?" Her whispers in my ear and the way she is touching me sends a shiver of pleasure down my spine, and I twitch in her hands.</p><p>"I don't think it would be very gentlemanly of me to brag," I say, struggling to keep my tone conversational, which I'm fairly certain I fail to do. I've emitted enough pre-cum that Akeno is using it as lube and is increasing her pace.</p><p>"So enough that it would be bragging?" she whispers. "What a naughty boy."</p><p>Rias is looking flushed now, and she's squirming. She's rubbing her legs together and her hands are fidgeting like she's not sure what to do with them. She hasn't said anything in a while, and she hasn't stopped watching Akeno give me a handjob.</p><p>Akeno's tight grip expertly and rapidly slides up and down my cock, and the feeling of it is quickly bringing me to the edge. Especially with Rias staring at it and the feeling of Akeno pressed against my back. I decide to lean into it a little, and not hold back.</p><p>"Akeno," I breathe out, half moaning. At the same time, I ramp up [Erotic Pierrot] on both of them, increasing their arousal as much as I can.</p><p>Akeno responds by getting faster. "Are you close?" She asks, her voice husky in my ear. "Are you about to cum? Cum for me Axton. <em>Cum</em>."</p><p>At her words, I let the pressure spillover, and with bucking hips I climax. Akeno continues to pump me as I do, making sure to squeeze every last drop out of me, and it's several seconds until my orgasm finishes.</p><p>It's only then that I realize that the emotions coming off of Rias have changed and I look at her. Shock, surprise, and arousal all roll off of her, and it's probably due to the cum that landed on her stomach, crotch, and legs. She was directly in front of me when I came after all. I feel a sense of satisfaction radiating off of Akeno. Did she aim me at Rias on purpose?</p><p>"That's a good boy," Akeno purrs.</p><p>Rias seems to be panicking a little, but she puts on a good mask. "As I said, that's just a small showing of our appreciation. The offer to join my peerage is still open though, and if you do join, we would be much more appreciative." She looks down and swallows. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash up before rejoining the group."</p><p>As Rias walks past us to go back the way we came, Akeno remains clinging to my back. "I can't help but to notice you haven't started to go soft yet," she comments. "Was I not enough for you?"</p><p>"Oh it was very good," I reassure her. "But it takes more than that to put me down. One of the reasons Momo encouraged me to start a harem was exhaustion." Rias is gone, but I can still use [Erotic Pierrot] on Akeno, and I keep doing so.</p><p>"Is that so?" she says with interest. She raises one of her hands, delicate fingers covered in semen, and brings it to her mouth, sexily licking the jizz off of them. Her eyes widen in surprise. "Chocolate?"</p><p>"A trick I picked up," I explain vaguely. "Do you have a preferred flavor?"</p><p>"Chocolate is perfect," she says as she runs her tongue over her fingers, getting every last bit of it. She finally pulls herself off of my back, and I hear the rustling of cloth again. I turn around and see her with her back to me, putting her bikini top back on.</p><p>Feeling bold, I return the favor and I press up against her from behind, [Touch of Pleasure] still active and I layer [Increase Sensitivity] on top of it. My still erect dick presses against her back and my arms wrap around her waist. She gasps in surprise at my actions but grins. "Now now Axton, don't get greedy."</p><p>"Oh no, that's not what this is at all," I deny. "The opposite actually. I was going to ask if you wanted me to return the favor." My hands slip lower on her stomach. "You wouldn't believe what I could do with my fingers."</p><p>I can feel a mix of emotions coming from her, but the dominant ones are curiosity and desire. "Oh? And if I said yes?"</p><p>"Then I'd give you an orgasm at least as good as the one you gave me, right here, right now," I whisper in her ear, making sure to ramp up [Erotic Pierrot]. Her arousal spikes up, and I can practically feel her skin heat up under my hand.</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Akeno Himejima<br/>A lewd skill gem has been rewarded for Akeno Himejima reaching exactly 69 Affection</strong>
</p><p>I grin at the beautiful coincidence that I got Akeno to 69 Affection. But unfortunately, I can feel Akeno as she reins in her feelings of desire and arousal. She shakes her head. "Tempting, but maybe another day." She smiles at me. "I'll let you know when I want you to return the favor, so be ready."</p><p>I give her a squeeze before stepping back, away from her with a grin. "Sure, anytime you want." I pull up my swimming trunks. My erection is still obvious, but it's no longer exposed. "You go back ahead of me, I'm gonna give this a couple minutes to calm down."</p><p>"Should I send over Atsuko to come to help you out?" Akeno teases.</p><p>"No no," I say. "That'll take too long, and she's having too much fun." I double-check with [Void Sight] and sure enough, she and Asia are playing in the water together. "It'll only be a couple minutes."</p><p>"If you say so," she says with a slightly teasing tone. "Don't take too long," She calls out as she walks away, headed in the same direction as Rias.</p><p>A few minutes later, I soften enough that I'm able to rejoin the group. Rias and Akeno have joined up with the others already. Atsuko gives me a suspicious look when I rejoin the group, but doesn't say anything.</p><p>All of us gathered again, we finish the night off with a meal purchased from a place inside of the water park. I assume it was purchased anyway. There's not an employee there, just Rias's familiar in her human form and wearing the water park uniform standing behind the counter.</p><p>After that, Atsuko gives me a kiss goodbye and we all teleport home. I ask the Devils to teleport me once again, not wanting for my first use of [Void Travel] to be with Asia. My run-in with the Man in the Wall has me nervous about entering the Void as the skill describes.</p><p>Once we're back home Asia goes to take a shower before bed and I go sit on the couch to do a little more [Alchemy], as a thought had occurred to me earlier.</p><p>Potions scale in effectiveness based on how many ingredients I put into them. Two for Minor, three for Moderate, four for Major, and five for Ultimate. I'm not sure if there's one for six, but most of my potions follow this rule. But not <em>all</em> of them.</p><p>Cure Debilitation and Cure Status Potion are both potions without the modifier. I found both of them as loot in a dungeon so I'm not sure how many ingredients they use, but I do have another potion that doesn't have a modifier and I know how to make it, the Gender Bender potion. It requires four ingredients, but what if I changed how many I use?</p><p>So first, I try with just two ingredients; Onyx shards and seawater.</p><p>
  <strong>Cosmetics Potion<br/>Allows the drinker to change superficial aspects of themselves such as hair, eye, and skin color.</strong>
</p><p>Interesting. A potion that lets you change yourself still, but to a lesser degree than changing your biological sex. So how about three ingredients? What's in between that and genderbending? I add in a scoop of clay as well this time.</p><p>
  <strong>Potion of Alter Self<br/>Allows the drinker to change their physical features to their preferences. Cannot create or remove features or organs.</strong>
</p><p>More or less what I expected. I can probably use this to change my height or my looks or make my dick bigger or smaller. I can probably make a killing off of just these, selling them to girls who want bigger boobs and guys who want bigger dicks.</p><p>I put the potion into my inventory and consider the final option. What happens if I add in Magic Dye and Ectoplasm, both ingredients that work for this kind of potion. What's the tier above Gender Bender?</p><p>
  <strong>Race Change Potion<br/>Allows the drinker to change their race. Note: Needs to be mixed with samples of the desired race or races using an Alchemy skill of 100.<br/></strong>
</p><p>My eyes widen and a smile stretches across my face. This is it. This is why I don't need to become a Devil. I can be <em>anything</em> with this, why would I settle for Devil? I just need to gather the right ingredients.</p><p>"You look like the cat that just caught the canary," Kyu comments, floating into the room.</p><p>"You're not far off the mark," I comment as I stash the potion. "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you all day."</p><p>"I went exploring around town, took in the sights, did some touristy shit," she explains. "Though it seems like I missed something fun. You got that hot Devil girl to 69 Affection?"</p><p>I grin. "Atsuko joined Rias's peerage today, so Rias and Akeno decided to show me their appreciation, hinting that I could get even more if I joined her as well."</p><p>"Ooh, and how good was their 'appreciation'?" Kyu asks as she floats down to lay the couch and puts her head in my lap.</p><p>"Not bad, Akeno gave me a reach around while topless. And then aimed my cum to get on Rias."</p><p>Kyu giggles. "Holy shit that's hot. You gotta let me know something like that is happening next time, I don't want to miss it again."</p><p>"Well you'll just have to stick around and not wander off," I tell her. Speaking of Affection, I have some heart crystals I want to use. First, I use some Small ones to push some girls over 50.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Tomoe Meguri<br/>[Power of Christ] - Increases Affection gain with exorcists by 20%</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Kagetsu Saji<br/>Effects of [A Worthy Addition] have been increased</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Murayama and Katase<br/>[Beautiful Bisexuals] - Increases Affection Gain with bisexuals by 20%</strong>
</p><p>The last two make sense, but the first one has me scratching my head for a moment until I remember Momo telling me briefly about all the members of the Student Council, and how Tomoe originally came from a family of exorcists. The kind that fixes demon possessions, not the Church's hunters. But man, I should have done this ages ago.</p><p>While I'm taking care of things, I use my Crafting Skill Gem and grab [Tailoring]. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to choose, and I'm fairly certain that this is the one that will let me make light armor. Considering one of the drops I got from the dungeon this morning was the hide of a gryphon, I could potentially make some good stuff. Especially if I pick up [Enchanting] next and enhance it with that.</p><p><strong>[Tailoring] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Use fabric or cloth to create clothes and light armor, or turn animal hides and plant matter into fabric and cloth.</strong></p><p>Perfect. Next, I pull the lewd skill gem out of my inventory and crush it.</p><p><strong>Lewd Skill Gem Used!<br/>Pick a Lewd Skill!<br/>[Refraction Reduction]<br/></strong> <strong>[Alter Size]<br/></strong> <strong>[Imbue Tightness]<br/></strong> <strong>[Summon Appendages]<br/></strong> <strong>[X-Ray Vision]<br/></strong> <strong>[Lubricate]<br/></strong> <strong>[Clean Body]<br/></strong> <strong>[Seal Orgasm]<br/>[Link Sensations]<br/></strong> <strong>[Erotic Dreams]</strong></p><p>Oh? That last one…? "Kyu, did you add another skill to the lewd skill list?" I ask her.</p><p>"Oh yeah!" she says, face lighting up. "I thought that one up this morning. You should totally get it next, it's awesome."</p><p>Hmm. There are a couple that I kind of want, but [Erotic Dreams] does sound like a much better choice. And who am I to ignore the advice of my Love Fairy?</p><p><strong>[Erotic Dreams] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>The next time the target goes to sleep, they will have a sexual dream involving you. Costs 1,000 MP, can only be applied to 1 target at once.</strong></p><p>Very good indeed. For a moment, I contemplate using it on Kyu before I remember our ceasefire in teasing. And then I remember that I have a much better target for it. Asia, who's getting out of the shower now.</p><p>I poke Kyu, still on my lap, on the forehead. "Move, I need to get ready for bed so I can try this skill out." She grumbles but lifts her head so I can get up. I arrive at the bathroom door right as Asia exits.</p><p>She smiles at me. "I'm all done!" she says, and I pat her on the head.</p><p>"Gimme a few minutes to get cleaned up and we can go to bed," I tell her. She nods and heads for the bedroom while I quickly clean up. That [Clean Body] skill might just be my next skill for the time saved alone.</p><p>It only takes me a few minutes later though, and I walk into the bedroom and come across the same scene I did last night, with Asia silently praying at the bedside. She finishes up as I come in though, and we climb into bed together.</p><p>This time though, Asia immediately snuggles up to me, putting us back into the same position we woke up in, with me spooning her. "Today was a lot of fun," she says.</p><p>"I'm glad," I reply as I apply [Erotic Dreams] to her. "It looked like you got along well with everyone."</p><p>"They were all very fun and nice," she agrees, voice sleepy. "I'm so thankful that I've already made so many friends."</p><p>"Once you start going to classes, every day will be filled with seeing friends," I tell her. I can feel her emotions start to become muted as she falls asleep.</p><p>"I can't...wait…" she mumbles, and she drifts off to sleep. That was fast. She must be really comfortable like this. So I regret that I have to end it.</p><p>Moving slowly and carefully, I slip out of bed. "<em>Yua</em>," I call to her silently. She comes padding into the bedroom. "<em>Sleep with Asia tonight. I have to go out. Let me know if anything happens and I'll be right back.</em>" I pull her wands and place them on the nightstand. "<em>And protect her if anything does. It shouldn't, but it might.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Okay Papa!</em>," she replies dutifully as I start equipping my gear. "<em>Have fun hunting!</em>"</p><p>I smile and scratch her behind her ears, causing her to purr. "<em>I will.</em>"</p><p>Double checking that I have everything, an easy thing to do when practically everything you own is in a pocket dimension, I activate [Void Blood] and use [Dungeon Traversal] to enter the Hard mode Zombie dungeon.</p><p>I'm going to clear it tonight, and finally get back on track.</p><hr/>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>Non-canon Omake</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>The Nosy Neighbor's Glory</strong>
</p><p>Axton grunts as he thrusts upwards into Momo, balls churning as he paints her insides white for the fourth time this evening. Momo moans loudly at the feeling of semen filling her up, and for the first time, Axton worries that his neighbors might hear.</p><p>He uses [Void Detect] and [Sound Domain] and he immediately finds at least one neighbor who heard.</p><p>His next-door neighbor is sprawled on her bed, one hand down her pants and furiously fingering herself while she uses her other hand to push her ear against the wall. The same wall that Axton has Momo up against as he fucks her.</p><p>Axton quickly uses [Void Sight] to get a better view of her, and he isn't disappointed. Through the skill, he sees a white-haired girl, clad in only white thigh high socks and an overly large tee shirt. She's a small girl, but Axton could tell she is the same age as him. Her face is twisted in pleasure, and between [Void Sight] and [Sound Domain], Axton gets a front-row seat to the girl bringing herself to orgasm.</p><p>Momo, who had slumped onto Axton after her orgasm to catch her breath, speaks up, bringing Axton's attention back to her. "I think that's all I've got in me tonight," she says.</p><p>Axton kisses her gently. "Okay," he says. "Do you want to shower together, or separately?"</p><p>Momo looks at the time. "Separately," she decides. "I need to get going soon and you'll definitely distract me if we're in there together."</p><p>Axton laughs. "Who, me? I would never."</p><p>Momo rolls her eyes, but she smiles fondly as she pulls herself off of Axton. She kisses him on the cheek before walking past him and into the bathroom. As the door closes behind her, Axton turns his attention back to his apparently voyeuristic neighbor.</p><p>She's still laying on the bed, breathing heavily. Her hands are splayed out by her side, giving Axton a clear view of her lower lips, slightly red and dripping with arousal.</p><p>He looks down at his own erection, still standing tall. Momo tries her best, but she just doesn't have the endurance to fully satisfy Axton. And Axton accepted that. His endurance was rather extreme after all. But sometimes he was left horny like he is now.</p><p>A crazy urge overcomes him, and the part of his mind that would normally prevent him from acting on it is silent. He pulls a knife out of his Inventory and applies [Void Edge] to it. Carefully and silently, he cuts a circular hole in the wall between himself and his neighbor.</p><p>The knife cuts through the wall with barely any resistance, and in seconds he has a smooth and perfect circle. He stores the section of the wall and the knife back into his Inventory. He uses [Void Sight] to check on the girl again, and it doesn't seem like she noticed. She will soon though.</p><p>Without any hesitation, Axton guides his erect cock into the hole he just cut, putting eight inches of his cock into her bedroom, a small distance above her eyes.</p><p>He watches as she notices it, eyes widening. She looks scared at first, but lust and desire quickly grow, and soon she's approaching it to get a closer look. She gulps as she gets close to it, her eyes locked on Axton's member.</p><p>She reaches out hesitantly and pokes it with a small finger, and Axton twitches in response. Seemingly encouraged, she reaches out with a full hand and wraps it around his shaft.</p><p>"It's so warm," she breathes, quietly enough that Axton would not have heard it without the use of [Sound Domain]. With one hand finding its way back to her pussy, she uses her other one to slowly stroke Axton's cock, still wet and lubricated from being inside of Momo.</p><p>Axton groans at the feeling of her hand rubbing up and down his shaft, something about the nature of them being separated by a wall making it feel even better. He pushes forward, trying to get as much of his dick through the wall as possible.</p><p>Hibiki, encouraged by this reaction, and her own arousal rising, starts stroking faster, her small hand rapidly pumping the massive phallus sticking out of her wall. Unable to hold herself back, she brings herself closer to it and gently licks the tip of it. Shivers run down her spine, something about the texture of it and the situation causing a wave of pleasure to roll over her.</p><p>Opening her mouth wider, she takes the head of Axton's penis into her mouth, tongue swirling over it, even as she continues to stroke him. She doesn't try to take him any deeper, not thinking it's even possible, and instead focus on the soft skin at his tip.</p><p>The feeling of her warm mouth wrapping around him pushes Axton over the edge, and he cums again.</p><p>Hibiki is caught off guard, and pulls back with a small noise of surprise, but not before the first burst of semen filled her mouth, coating her tongue. As she pulls back, more strands of semen shoot from Axton's erection, each one landing perfectly on her face.</p><p>Hibiki sits there stunned for a moment, not sure how to process what just happened. She swallows before she realizes what she did. She uses a finger to scrape more of Axton's jizz off of her face and puts that in her mouth as well, paying attention to the taste. To her surprise, she finds herself liking it.</p><p>Axton, watching through [Void Sight], twitches at the view, which draws Hibiki's attention to his still erect dick.</p><p>Like it did to Axton earlier, an urge overcomes Hibiki that she would not normally listen to, but this time she does. She turns around and lifts her shirt up, exposing herself. Taking another deep gulp, she lines up her virgin slit on Axton's erection and slowly pushes herself onto it.</p><p>Both of them let out a moan. Axton as he feels the tightest pleasure he has yet to experience slowly travel down his shaft, and Hibiki as she's stretched wide, far wider than any toy has ever brought her.</p><p>Axton quickly uses [Imbue Elasticity] on her to make things go smoother, and Hibiki is surprised to find the pain that was slowly building up completely disappears and turns into pure pleasure. She cums as she pushes herself completely on his dick, her ass cheeks pushing against the wall separating them.</p><p>Axton groans as he feels her tight cunt convulse around his member. He had never had a girl so tight before, and the feeling of it was on another level. His hands pushed against the wall as he subconsciously tries to grab the hips of the girl on the other side of it.</p><p>Hibiki catches her breath, even as spikes of pleasure rippled through her with every twitch of Axton's dick. She had never come as hard as she had just now. And that was just from putting it in. She takes a moment to wonder how she even managed to fit all of him inside of her, she had toys smaller than him that she couldn't fit that far inside of her. Her attention is quickly brought back to the cock inside of her by a slight movement from Axton.</p><p>Having caught her breath, she slowly pushes away from the wall, pulling herself off of Axton's dick slightly. Then she pushes back again, just as slowly, moaning lightly as she is stretched again.</p><p>Unbeknownst to her, on the other side of the wall, Axton pushes himself forward, breathing heavily. It wasn't on purpose, but her slow pace combined with the lack of control Axton had was teasing him like he had never felt before. He pulls back slightly from the wall just so he can thrust forward.</p><p>Hibiki makes a squeaking noise, somewhere between arousal and surprise. She didn't expect the movement, but she received the message loud and clear. Bracing herself, she speeds up her movements, moving forward and back several inches at a time, gasping each time she pushes back as Axton's cock spreads her wide.</p><p>Soon, she finds a rhythm that works, and the two of them moan as Hibiki fucks herself on Axton's dick. Hibiki's mind goes blank as pleasure pulses through her from her core, and Axton's entire world shrinks down to the hot and wet grip around his cock, wringing him.</p><p>In what feels like both forever and no time at all, they both orgasm, Axton filling Hibiki with his seed even as her insides writhe around him, milking more of his orgasm out.</p><p>Once their orgasms end and Axton finally begins to soften, he pulls back, pulling himself out of Hibiki and out of the hole in the wall. Hibiki, breathing hard, slumps over and falls into a laying position on her bed. Axton takes the circular section of the wall he cut off earlier and places it back in the wall, where it fits snugly, though it's still obvious that that part of the wall can be removed.</p><p>He lays back on his own bed, using [Sound Domain] to listen to the sound of Hibiki's breathing, and the two of them fall asleep.</p><hr/><p>I wake up suddenly, eyes shooting open as I get my bearings. I look around and see Asia in the bed in front of me, sleeping gently. I look at the wall behind me but I can't find any holes. So it was just a dream? I use [Void Detect] to look in the room across the wall. The girl is there, sleeping as well, but she's there every night.</p><p>I shake my head. Just a dream then. The most realistic one I've ever had, but a dream nonetheless. I grimace as look down. The dream was realistic enough that my dick is now at full mast, unable to be contained by my underwear. I move my hips back a little to make sure it doesn't poke into Asia, as it's too early for that sort of thing, and I put my mind on falling back asleep and ignoring my arousal. Hopefully I won't be woken up by sexy dreams again.</p><hr/><p>The next morning, Hibiki woke up feeling especially tired. She groaned as the sun hit her eyes, and rolls over to block it. When she did so though, she immediately noticed something wrong. A wet feeling between her legs.</p><p>In a flash, she threw back her covers and reached down to her panties with a tentative finger. Sure enough, they were soaked. She groaned, embarrassed, but paused, remembering the dream she had. Slowly she brought her finger to her nose to sniff it and noticed the distinct lack of urine smell.</p><p>So if she didn't pee herself, then this wetness was…?</p><p>She blushed furiously, a different kind of embarrassment overcoming her. The dream had certainly been extremely realistic, and the hottest thing she had ever imagined. So orgasming in her sleep and soaking her panties in the process wasn't impossible. But even though no one was around to see it, and no one would ever know, embarrassment washed over her. She buried her face in her pillow, fighting the urge to groan in despair. She couldn't believe that had actually happened to her.</p><p>Her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she finally got up. She needed to change out of these panties and wash up. She paused, and looked over at her tablet, sitting next to her computer. She also needed to draw this before the memory faded. She bet she could get a ton of new followers if she could capture even half of the eroticism of the dream she had.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Axton's Character Sheets: tiny url /axton-cs</p><p>Wow this chapter sure is heavy on Game/Dungeon stuff. I don't like focusing on it that much normally, preferring to spread it out, but with Axton's mindset, there was no avoiding it. And it's super easy to write, so the word count got a little out of hand. I couldn't have a chapter of just that though, so here we are with an extra-long chapter.</p><p>...remember when I was doing 5k-10k chapters? Me neither.</p><p>Before anyone tells me, yes I know The Game Must Go On has Sakuya Izayoi as a companion as well in a DxD Gamer fic. In my defense, a FF reader suggested it before I was even aware of that fic, and I've talked to Crossedge about it on Shiro's discord server, and he doesn't care. We're doing things differently enough that it doesn't matter, and we're both of the opinion that more Sakuya is good. Just enjoy having two fics that feature her.</p><p>The omake is something I wrote up after everyone liked Hibiki, Axton's neighbor, so much. I decided to play around with the tense and perspective a little, and I think it came out pretty good for me knocking it out in only a couple hours while responding to comments. It takes place between the last chapter and this one.</p><p>Anyway, I'm glad I managed to get this chapter out by the end of the year. Happy New Year everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing if I can keep writing all year long.</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord. gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. DxD: Recruitment Week 07</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>- Added the Handmaid's Dagger and Shard of the Traveler items to the character sheets because apparently, I forgot to add them to his inventory after pulling them. Thank you guest reviewer for pointing that out.<br/>- Edited the Race Change potion description to get rid of the DNA requirement. Don't know why I got so specific, it didn't need to be. It just needs 'samples' of other races and beings, it doesn't have to contain any actual DNA.<br/>- The Hibiki omake is now semi-canon. Axton didn't have that dream, but Hibiki did. Expect scenes similar to that in the future, whenever I feel inspired to make them.<br/>- Rogue Class level 80 gave him a perk called Weak Spot that let him instinctively know where to hit an enemy for a critical hit. Somehow, it didn't make it onto his character sheet, and so I ended up forgetting about it until an FF reviewer reminded me of it. It's there now, though I haven't gone back to the old ones to add it. Maybe later.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Deep in its inner sanctum, the Lich waited. His skeletal fingers gripped tight around the blackened bone staff he held. The Interloper was currently carving his way through the Lich's final line of defense, far more powerful than before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The Lich called back his forces, teleporting them all to himself. There was no point in having them fight there, they could not touch the Interloper now. But with enough bodies packed into the inner sanctum, with less room for the Interloper to maneuver in, it might be possible.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The Lich's gaze was drawn to the gem that was nested atop the staff he held. He had hoped to avoid using it, but with this new development, it seemed he had no other choice. It was the only trump card left to him, and he could only hope his undead army would provide him the chance to use it.</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>I stood in front of the door to the boss room, wary. I've only been in the dungeon for twenty minutes, and it's been weird.</p>
<p>The first thing I did was finally try out one of my new Void Mage skills, [Void Cloak], and try to go through the dungeon wall. I was able to put my hand a couple of inches into the wall, but I couldn't phase through the indestructible part of the dungeon that I noticed in one of my previous runs.</p>
<p>I then ran out of mana and learned that thankfully, dropping the skill when inside of something doesn't try to overlap the two, and it instead just pushed my hand out of the wall. Well, I say pushed, but it felt more like one second my hand was inside the wall, and then my hand was pressed up against the wall with no sense of movement attached to it.</p>
<p>I didn't experiment with [Void Travel] after that, deciding it would be better to get a sense for it in a non-dungeon space first, since the rules might be different here.</p>
<p>Instead, I used another Ultimate XP Potion and started clearing rooms using only [Void Beam] in an attempt to level it up some. Boosted by [Void Blood], it did massive damage and I was able to clear the first room in seconds. However, in the second room, things went wrong.</p>
<p>As it turns out, [Void Blood] had another risk to it that the skill didn't make clear until after it happened. With [Void Blood] active, any other Void skill ran the risk of causing [Void Blood] to lose control, resulting in void energies tearing me apart from the inside, dealing massive damage, and applying the Void Ravaged debuff to me again for 50%.</p>
<p>Thankfully it only happened as the last enemy in the room died, but it could have been so much worse. I used my only Cure Status Potion and decided to continue without [Void Blood] active.</p>
<p>I did note that [Void Detect] didn't seem to be at risk for use with [Void Blood], and I'm not sure if that's because of what kind of skill it is, or the fact that it was originally [Void Sense] and it was mixed with [Detect] to create a new skill. Maybe it was stabilized? Or maybe I had just gotten lucky. It's impossible to tell right now, I'll have to experiment later.</p>
<p>After deactivating [Void Blood] and deciding to continue trying to level [Void Beam], I entered the next room and found nothing. No enemies at all. It wasn't a safe room, nor were they hiding, they just weren't there. And they continued to be absent from all the remaining rooms.</p>
<p>This made them easy to loot, and I got lucky with the things I found. One had a CHA Crystal that increased my CHA by 10, and in another, I found a skill gem that taught me a new skill.</p>
<p><strong>[Speak with Dead] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Imbue a corpse with the ability to speak. The corpse must be less than 1 day old. They are not compelled to tell the truth or listen to you.</strong></p>
<p>Potentially useful, but not as important as the other loot I found. 4 Gacha tokens.</p>
<p>I don't want to waste too much time before starting the boss fight, I only have 45 minutes left with my Ultimate XP Potion, and I'm not sure how long the fight will take. But it's worth it to use these Gacha tokens first, they could give me something that would give me an advantage.</p>
<p>The first three items I roll are neat, but nothing amazing.</p>
<p><strong>Ring of Stone<br/></strong> <strong>At will, the wearer can cast an illusion that makes them look like a large rock. Taking any action breaks the illusion.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Gantz Sword<br/></strong> <strong>When not in use it appears to be just the hilt of a katana. When triggered, a blade can extend out of the hilt, up to 30 feet.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Sovereign Glue<br/></strong> <strong>Jar of a white sticky substance that can permanently adhere two objects together when applied.</strong></p>
<p>The last item gives me pause though.</p>
<p><strong>Devil Fruit(Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix)<br/></strong> <strong>A strange fruit that can grant the eater a special super-human power, at the cost of the eater's ability to swim.</strong></p>
<p>A Devil Fruit is an impressive power, but more than that, this specific one has a lot of potential. No Devil Fruit is bad, and it's more up to their users and how creatively they use their abilities, but some are very good even if you aren't very creative.</p>
<p>And being able to turn into a Phoenix with control over extremely potent healing flames is one of them.</p>
<p>The inability to swim and weakness to materials like Seastone isn't insignificant, but outside of the world of One Piece, it's not a very big risk. Especially when I have other ways of avoiding water.</p>
<p>I pull it out of my inventory and stare at it, tempted to take a bite out of it and gain its power. But there's a little voice in the back of my mind that tells me to stop and reconsider.</p>
<p>Every advantage the fruit could offer me is also something I can get with a different method. Flight, healing flames, increased regeneration...those are all things I can get with time and the right Classes. I can even get better versions of them.</p>
<p>But this Devil Fruit will work on anyone. I'm limited in how much of my strength and skills I can share with someone else. So should I really use this, when I can give it to someone else?</p>
<p>Someone else, someone I care about and want to keep safe, would benefit from this fruit far more than I can, especially in the long term. No one else has the same options for gaining strength I do, and a powerup like this can make a massive difference.</p>
<p>So, a little reluctantly, I put it back into my inventory. Eating it myself would satisfy me in the short term, but giving it to someone else is far too much better of an idea in the long term, and I would regret it down the line.</p>
<p>Besides, as good as the Fruit is, I can only eat one, so if I get another one that I like more later, then it would be too bad.</p>
<p>I'll figure out who to give to later. Atsuko and Asia are both good candidates, but I have another candidate in mind that feels more appropriate. After all, it's not just me that's restricted to a single Devil Fruit power. Everyone is, so I should use it on the most appropriate person.</p>
<p>I shake my head and look at the time. Five minutes wasted standing around thinking. I'm not eating the fruit myself, so it can wait. I double-check that I have all my skills prepared. With my new discovery of the limitation on [Void Blood], my strategy has to change a little.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the skill is maxed out, which means I can activate it and deactivate it as much as I want. Unfortunately, this process takes time. Not a lot, a little less than a second either way, but that meant casting any Void spells would require the extra delay if I had it active. But it was too good not to have active.</p>
<p>Thankfully, I can scope out the situation with [Void Detect] before heading it and- holy shit. Well, I've discovered where all the enemies went. The small room is packed nearly to bursting with undead. All of them are facing the door, and in their center is one that stands out.</p>
<p>It floats a few feet above the floor, a skeleton wrapped in robes and holding a staff. It gives off a powerful magical aura, though it's dwarfed by the staff it holds, and the locked box in the back of the room. Thankfully, that's no barrier to [Void Detect], and inside is a small metal jar. I use [Void Sight] inside of the safe, and despite the dark, I'm able to use [Observe] on the jar.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Phylactery<br/>Contains the soul of a lich. So long as it exists, the lich cannot be killed.</strong>
</p>
<p>Bingo. I turn my attention to the safe itself. It's made of something called 'Necrotic Iron' which makes it both physically strong and resistant to magic, and the locking mechanism requires very precise necromancy, with the lock itself being some sort of undead golem.</p>
<p>It's actually a fascinating lock design, and unfortunately, it's also unpickable by me, especially in the extremely limited time frame I'm likely to have. Brute force is my only option, and even that will be tricky.</p>
<p>The most efficient method would be to take out the lich, which would probably take out the rest of the undead, or at least make them far easier to deal with. But to do that, I have to take out his phylactery, and he's done a good enough job securing it that I can't do it easily.</p>
<p>Or so I presume. I haven't tested it against anything with magic resistance yet, but I suspect Void damage cuts through that a bit better than most spells. But that's a dangerous assumption to make here.</p>
<p>So the safest option will probably be to clear the room of the low-level enemies, dodge the lich, and hammer on the safe until it's destroyed.</p>
<p>Plan ready, I take a deep breath to ready myself and then fling open the doors.</p>
<p>Immediately there are a dozen spells and arrows sent towards me, but I'm already ducking low and rushing in. I immediately use most of my MP to use [Void Collapse] twice, one in the middle of the mass of enemies on the left, and another one on the right side.</p>
<p><strong>[Void Collapse] - Level 21(34%)<br/></strong> <strong>Create a small orb of Void that instantly collapses reality around it and draws things in. Consumes beings and attacks it draws in to sustain itself. Costs 12980MP</strong></p>
<p>[Void Collapse] isn't a skill I use often. It roots itself in a specific location and its range is small enough that it's not that hard to just go around it, so for the cost, it's usually not worth it. However, in a room so tightly packed, when the enemies can't avoid it? That's a different story.</p>
<p>Undead groaned as they were torn to pieces, consumed by the two swirling nexuses of Void. As the undead and some fired spells were absorbed into it, it only grew larger, and more undead are sucked into it. But not all of them.</p>
<p>Which is why, immediately after casting the two spells, I activate [Void Blood] and start throwing more undead into the vortexes. I don't bother trying to throw the heavy tanks or incorporeal banshees in there, but ghouls, skeletons, and witches all are fed to the hungry Void as I use [Void Detect] to dodge and weave between the attacks. It's no challenge at all with an effective STR and DEX of over 2,500 thanks to [Void Blood].</p>
<p>Making sure to stab all the Tanks I come across, [Void Edge] having been applied to my Hestia Knife before coming into the room, it's not long before I'm left with just one panicking lich and a dozen or so banshees. Enough time for my MP to have regenerated to about 50%. But seeing the [Void Collapse] skills still active, I decide to try something.</p>
<p>I rush for the safe, which I had previously ignored, and confirm that it's not mounted to the ground or to anything at all. As I approach the safe, the lich levels its staff at me, but I ignore it, scooping up the safe. I turn towards the nearest [Void Collapse] and-</p>
<p>I nearly trip as the weight of it disappears from my hands, and I scream in pain as I feel like I've been dipped in acid. The world has gone dark to my eyes, and [Void Detect] was confusing me. How did the lich get there so quickly?</p>
<p>Before I can gather my senses, I'm rocked by the dozen banshees arranged in a circle around me all hitting me with their sonic attacks. I panic, and without even dropping [Void Blood], I use [Void Travel] to escape to the other side of the room.</p>
<p>It works, but as I arrive I feel the misfire happen again. Void energies tear into my body from the inside, [Void Blood] deactivates, and I feel my world slow down as my base stats drop by half. My only lifeline is that [Void Detect] remains active, and I'm able to finally get a grasp of the situation.</p>
<p>Somehow, in one instant, everything changed. The safe containing the phylactery is now floating behind the lich. The banshees are surrounding the spot I was just in, which is covered in a dark fog. They haven't noticed my disappearance yet.</p>
<p>I immediately activate [Fade] and down a Major Health Potion. The attacks plus the misfire had reduced my health to dangerous levels, less than ten percent. I watch the remaining enemies as I consider my options. With reduced stats and [Void Blood] no longer available to me, they are limited, but not non-existent.</p>
<p>Going after the lich directly is pointless. But I can immobilize him, and in the same move take out the banshees. I pull the three Black Keys from my inventory and push mana into them to create their blades. Then, I use [Void Edge] to increase their damage, and I move.</p>
<p>The first Black Key goes into the Shadow of the lich, who starts to turn as soon as it leaves my hand but is too late to stop it. As the blade sinks into the ground the lich freezes, suspended in midair. Good, I wasn't sure if that would work if they weren't on the ground.</p>
<p>The other two Black Keys in hand like they're normal swords, I rush the banshees, twirling as I cut them to pieces. The Holy damage they do plus the extra damage from [Void Edge] does the trick and soon all the banshees are dead, leaving just me and the lich.</p>
<p>Earlier I might have bantered, maybe gloated a little. But right now, having almost fucking died? Fuck that, I'm finishing this and then I'm going back home to get some sleep. I use [Void Call] on the safe, and it's visibly damaged, but still holds strong.</p>
<p>[Void Beam] also damages it, but not enough. Either void skills aren't effective against magic resistant materials, or it's just far tougher than I expected. I can feel the rage and fear coming off the lich with [Empathy] as I experiment on ways to destroy the safe, and he sits there helplessly.</p>
<p>Or not so helplessly, when he lashes out and the blade of the Black Key snaps, freeing him. I curse and dodge the wave of black ice shards he throws at me. Fine, if Void magic won't do it, how about holy?</p>
<p>I take out a Light Gun, stolen from the Fallen Angels so long ago, and shoot the safe while I dodge his attacks. It seems to be working, the damage done to the safe is considering. The lich protests, throwing its body in front of the safe even as it levitates it out of my reach, but I don't let it.</p>
<p>Even with my stats halved I'm fast enough to rush around the lich, dodging the waves of ice and darkness it sends at me, peppering the safe. It's rotating too much for me to focus on a single spot, or else I would have punched through it by now, but even so it's barely held together, in fact, I suspect that it's the lich that's keeping it from falling apart more than anything.</p>
<p>The lich was angry and scared before, but now all I feel from it is fear. It can't hit me with its attacks, and whatever it did earlier it doesn't seem to be able to do again. But I need to finish this before he gets a chance to try again.</p>
<p>Putting away my Hestia Knife, I pull out my Sanctified Whip. I've never used a whip as a weapon before, but it's my best weapon against undead.</p>
<p>It takes a few swings for me to figure it out, but soon I'm comfortable with it. At least, comfortable enough to use it to wrap it around the safe and yank it towards me, disrupting the lich's control over it.</p>
<p>Sure enough, once it's yanked from his telekinetic grasp, and potentially due to the extra damage done by the whip, it crumbles to pieces, spilling the metal urn out onto the floor. The lich panics, but before he can recover it, a shot from my Light Gun bores through the unholy phylactery.</p>
<p>The lich shrieks, but the sound trails off as its bones crumble to dust and it dies. The ragged robe it wore falls to the ground along with the staff it used.</p>
<p>I take a deep sigh of relief and turn my attention to the Game windows suddenly popping up.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hard Mode Zombie Dungeon Cleared<br/>Special Dungeon Key rewarded</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Void Mage Class has reached level 100</strong>
</p>
<p><strong>New Skill<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Rebirth] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>When health reaches zero, glimpse the Void between Life and Death, and harness it to be born anew. Overflows MP that must be used in an immediate attack or spell. 100 day cooldown. Levels up once per use.</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>Void Mage Class maxed, extra XP held</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Please choose a new Class</strong>
</p>
<p><strong>[Warrior][Saber][Archer][Lancer][Berserker][Gunner]<br/></strong> <strong>[Assassin][Ninja][Spy][Thief][Shadow]<br/></strong> <strong>[Mage][Summoner][Elementalist][Illusionist][Healer]<br/>[Hollow Knight][Blue Mage]</strong></p>
<p>Before I can even begin to process all of that, I hear a voice behind me. "<em>That was quite the fight, Champ. I was worried there for a second</em>."</p>
<p>I spin to face the voice and see...myself? Oh. That explains why [Void Detect] didn't pick anything up.</p>
<p>"I see you've finally decided to come out and say hello," I address the Man in the Wall. He looks exactly like me, though instead of armor he's dressed in the casual clothes I usually wear. The only difference is his eyes. There are no irises or pupils there, only the swirling gold of his Void.</p>
<p>"<em>I decided you were interesting enough to warrant a discussion,</em>" he replies. His voice is like mine, but there's another layer to it. I can hear the Void clearly in his voice. It's hard to describe what Void sounds like, but the best way I can put it is 'incomprehensible musical static'. Not staticky music, musical static.</p>
<p>"I'm glad I entertain you," I say a little sarcastically as I make a show of relaxing, though I'm still tense. I don't believe he'll attack me, but I don't believe it's possible to predict what he'll do either. I start gathering the few scraps of loot on the ground, picking up the remains of the safe, the hilt of the Black Key, the lich's robe, and finally the staff. The staff itself is putting off a lot of magical power, so I use [Observe] on it.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Blackened Bone Staff<br/>A staff made of bone hardened by necrotic powers. Boosts Dark and Death magic by 50%. Currently topped by Kronika's Gem.</strong>
</p>
<p>"<em>That's quite the artifact,</em>" I hear the Man in the Wall say. "<em>It almost managed to turn the tide on you, though much of that was your own foolishness</em>."</p>
<p>I grit my teeth at the reminder of how I fucked up. The damage that was being done to me by the banshees and fog was bad, but in hindsight, if I had used [Shadow Step] or even just ran out of the area it would have cost me far less health than the misfire, even considering how much slower the techniques were. "I wasn't exactly thinking very clearly at the time," I defend myself.</p>
<p>Wait, this staff is what caused the weird jump? I don't see how. Unless...my eyes travel up to the gem nestled on top of the staff, and I use [Observe] on that.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Kronika's Gem<br/>A jewel containing a fraction of the power of Kronika's Crown. Can be used to stop time for all but the user for 5 seconds. 7-day cooldown.</strong>
</p>
<p>Holy shit, that's what that was, a time stop. No wonder that fight suddenly went so poorly, the god damned boss used a time stop on me. But it wasn't enough, and now I have it.</p>
<p>Mood improved, I turn back to the Man in the Wall. "Anyways, aren't you a little far from home? Don't you have some immortal kids to spy on?"</p>
<p>"<em>I'm quite capable of multitasking,</em>" the Man in the Wall responds easily. "<em>Besides, you are </em>far<em> more interesting. The Tenno I understand, having been transformed by the Void. You, however, are something else.</em>" He makes a small humming noise. "<em>This 'Game' is interesting. Never before have I seen anything like it.</em>"</p>
<p>"So you can see that too, huh?" I ask. "You've been rummaging around in my head then?"</p>
<p>He smiles maliciously. "<em>I did not need to.</em>" I wait for him to expand on that, but he doesn't.</p>
<p>I sigh. "Well, you have my attention. What is it you want?"</p>
<p>"<em>Oh not much</em>," he answers. "<em>I just thought congratulations were in order. You've reached a major milestone after all.</em>"</p>
<p>"That's it?" I ask, not believing him.</p>
<p>"<em>For now,</em>" he grins. "<em>We'll talk again later, okay Champ?</em>" And before I can respond, he vanishes.</p>
<p>"Fucking creepy god damn stalker," I grumble, though I'm relieved. It seems that the Man in the Wall is at least <em>acting</em> friendly, and while that doesn't make me trust him the slightest, it does take some of the edge off. For now. I quickly go through the rest of the loot I got from the fight. Nothing special, mostly ingredients.</p>
<p>The boss's loot is much more interesting. I remove Kronika's Gem from the Blackened Bone Staff and store them into my inventory separately. I have a plan in mind for the staff, but the time stop stays with me.</p>
<p>Besides those, he also dropped three Gatcha tokens, which I store to use later, and his robe.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Ragged Mantle of Death<br/>A robe weaved with the power of death. It has degraded over time. Increases the effectiveness of Death magic by 10%.</strong>
</p>
<p>I don't have a use for it, but maybe fixing it will level up my [Tailoring] skill? Not sure what material it's actually made of. Maybe it's actual death magic turned into cloth? I'll have to figure it out later.</p>
<p>Now onto the far more important things. First, maxing out Void Mage. I was close and knew it would happen soon, but I wasn't prepared for the final skill. A get out of jail free card for dying, though one with a massive cool down. A difficult skill to level up too, and I'm not sure what benefit there is to doing so. Does it reduce the cooldown? Or maybe it just increases the amount of MP that overflows?</p>
<p>Either way, it's not something I'm going to try to train on purpose. 100 days without it is a high cost. Hell, training it properly would take years. No, it's safer to just continue like I don't have it, and know that I have a small safety net in case the worst happens.</p>
<p>Next, I look back over my class options. The options look the same as last time, except the two additional ones at the bottom, which I assume are the unique classes I unlocked. They certainly look unique.</p>
<p>
  <strong>[Hollow Knight][Blue Mage]</strong>
</p>
<p>Hollow Knight, a game about a bug who wielded the power of soul, void, and dreams to contain or slay a god, depending on the ending. And Blue Mage, which I assume will let me learn any skills I'm hit by.</p>
<p>Honestly, they're both very tempting. Hollow Knight because of the synergy with my existing combat style and ties to the Void, and Blue Mage because of all the skills it can get me, especially once I start combining skills.</p>
<p>I mull over the decision for a bit, but ultimately I decide to go with Hollow Knight. I believe it'll keep me safer in the short term. I can always pick up Blue Mage afterward, assuming something better doesn't come up.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hollow Knight Class selected</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Held XP given to Hollow Knight Class</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hollow Knight Class is now Level 18!</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Trait added<br/>[Empowering Soul]<br/>Use the power of your soul to strengthen your skills</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 DEX<br/>[Vicious Wounds] - Critical hits deal 100% more damage</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 1000 INT<br/>[Mana Lake] - Increases maximum mana</strong>
</p>
<p>I blink, waiting for a skill or two to be added, but nothing happens. Wait, is that it? Just a Trait? Is this because the class is Unique? Still, the Trait itself is pretty good. I pick a spot on the wall and attempt to add the strength of my soul to a [Void Beam], but I don't notice a difference. Frowning, I check my stats screen. There's no new bar or anything, and no way to measure my 'soul'.</p>
<p>Whatever. I'll meditate on it later and figure it out. I'd do it now but...well a creepy dungeon where I just talked to the Man in the Wall was not the place for me to do some literal soul searching.</p>
<p>So instead I turn my attention to the last thing of interest.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Special Dungeon Key</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>A key that teleports you to a special dungeon. The dungeon must be cleared on the first visit, and cannot be exited until cleared. Once cleared, the dungeon is inaccessible. The dungeon is random, and not scaled to the user's level.</strong>
</p>
<p>That was both a lot of information and basically none at all. It made it very clear that this was a one time challenge but offered absolutely nothing about the dungeon itself or its rewards. The last bit, about it being a random difficulty, is also worrying. Going into one is a gamble since leaving is impossible.</p>
<p>I'll hold onto it for now, and save it for when I'm more prepared. I need better armor, better potions, and I need to experiment more with my skills, especially my new soul stuff. I take a quick look at my new stats.</p>
<p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 218<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Hollow Knight(18/100)[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 9,900 (198 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 40,320 (806 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 9,040 (181 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 495<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 427(452)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 632<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1008<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 884<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 331<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 423(433)</strong></p>
<p>My MP shot up again, which I appreciate, but I'm starting to get a little annoyed. For a Rogue, I sure do have a lot of magic power. Still, from what I saw of the stats, STR and DEX are the main focuses of the Hollow Knight class, so hopefully my SP will get the same treatment soon.</p>
<p>I do a quick sweep of the room with [Void Detect] to make sure I haven't missed anything. I don't think I have, considering I got the notice that I cleared the Dungeon, and [Void Detect] backs that up. With a nod, I use [Dungeon Traversal] and go back home to my room.</p>
<p>Things are exactly how I left them. I use [Void Detect] to make sure. I don't sense any sources of magic that I don't expect to see, and all of the people in my range are the neighbors I expected. Most of them are asleep at this time of night, though I note that the girl in the room next to me is still up at her computer, but that isn't unusual for her from what I remember from the couple of times I've used [Void Detect].</p>
<p>Satisfied that everything is as it should be, I relax. I look at Asia, sleeping comfortably in the bed, Yua curled up next to her. After my close call in the dungeon, I'm tempted to crawl back in bed and join them. But I shake my head and free myself of those thoughts.</p>
<p>First, there is something important I need to talk to Kyu about that I should have talked to her about already. The Man in the Wall. I had forgotten about the way he had edited the Game by the time I saw Kyu again yesterday, but after my last run-in with him, there's no way I'm going to forget again.</p>
<p>I head over to a slightly hidden spot on top of my dresser behind some books and find Kyu in her smaller form curled up in what appears to be a nest made out of panties. So that's where they went. I had noticed they weren't in my inventory but wasn't sure where she had stashed them.</p>
<p>Ignoring this new information, I gently poke her awake. "Hey Kyu, wake up real quick," I tell her while using [Sound Domain] to make sure Asia doesn't hear and wake up. "I need to talk to you about something important."</p>
<p>Grumbling, she sits up and rubs at her eyes. "I just got to sleep," she grumbles. "What do you want? I swear if you're here to ask me about unimportant dungeon-"</p>
<p>"There's a Void being stalking me that can access the game," I interrupt her.</p>
<p>"He can do <em>what</em>?!" she exclaims. "What do you mean he can access the game? This shit is like airtight, the only way he could do that would be…oh." She looks at me. "You said a Void being? Like something that lives in the Void or what?"</p>
<p>"Like he's a manifestation of the Void or <em>is</em> the Void or something, that wasn't ever made clear," I answer. "Why? What did you figure out?"</p>
<p>"Well," she starts, expression complicated. "The System is hooked up directly to your soul, through me. It feeds from the System, through me, and then to you, and that's where all your powers and your window and all that shit comes from. So if something had access to your soul, it could theoretically tweak things a little, but only on your end. What exactly did it do?"</p>
<p>"Well at first all it did was add a message to one of my skills that disappeared a couple moments later," I say. "But now he's here, probably watching me. We had a chat just now after I maxed out Void Mage."</p>
<p>"When that happened, were you in the dungeon?" she asks, looking unusually serious.</p>
<p>"Yeah. Both times I was. Does it matter?"</p>
<p>"Of course it fucking matters you dingus," she shoots back. "The Dungeon is in the Void. Sorta. They're like little pocket spaces, but more malleable." She shakes her head. "The point is, if this dude is a manifestation of the Void, he's going to have it a lot easier when you're in the Dungeon."</p>
<p>"So he might not be watching right now?" I ask.</p>
<p>Kyu takes a moment, closing her eyes. "I don't sense anything wrong, but my ability to parse your soul is pretty limited, I mostly just plug shit in."</p>
<p>"Shit," I curse. "Should I just not go to the dungeons anymore?"</p>
<p>"I don't know," she sighs. "Is this thing after you? Is it a threat?"</p>
<p>"I honestly don't know," I answer. "I don't think so? If I had to describe him it would be 'enigmatic and creepy'. He's potentially a threat, but he also might just be a voyeur."</p>
<p>"Then you do whatever you're most comfortable with," Kyu says, tired. "You're the one that knows him. I can shift the game into 'no dungeon' mode, that basically just gives you more quests and XP for those quests, but locks the dungeon."</p>
<p>I sigh. "No, keep it the way it is now. If he's just going to creep, then it's fine. I'll let you know if that changes. Besides, I just got a new class that's based on soul stuff. That should help. Or it'll hurt."</p>
<p>She frowns. "Did you?" Her eyes unfocus slightly. "Oh you did, one of the Unique classes. Huh. That's a weird one. Yeah, it could go either way, though I think it'll help more than hurt."</p>
<p>"I guess I'll get to work on figuring it out then," I say. "Sorry to wake you up." She waves me off, already lying back down and settling back down into her nest. Without a further word, she falls back asleep, leaving me alone.</p>
<p>With another sigh and a glance at the inviting bed where Asia slept, I sit down on the floor across the room from the bed, my back against the wall.</p>
<p>I remove all my armor and equip only a pair of soft pants and my Omni-Ring. Here, in the comfort of my own home, is a good place to figure out this soul business.</p>
<p>Since the game doesn't seem to be willing to help me, I have to do it the old fashioned way. I get into a comfortable position, close my eyes, disable [Void Detect], and turn my senses inwards.</p>
<p>The first thing I notice is all the Void damage, which reminds me of my state. I sigh, cut off the meditation, and quickly throw together the ingredients for a Cure Status Potion. It's actually extremely cheap to make, as it's a Minor grade potion. I'm tempted to take a quick minute to experiment and see what the higher tier versions are, but I only have the ingredients to make the next tier up, and only a few at that, so I leave it for later.</p>
<p>Status effect gone and stats back to normal, I once again make myself comfortable and turn my attention inwards. My senses are good enough that I can feel magic and life force running through my body. I've never really paid attention to how my body has changed since becoming a Gamer and powering up, so I decide not to rush it and I lose myself in feeling those forces flow through me.</p>
<p>Mana flows through my body like it's electricity, following pathways along veins and bones and whatever bit of tissue it finds. It's centered on my mind, the mana flowing to and from it like it's a heart.</p>
<p>Stamina, or what would probably be called ki by others, is more like heat. It spreads evenly throughout me, and changes in it happen in waves and ripples. It's focused on my heart, which is the point where it's the 'hottest'.</p>
<p>Both are difficult to pick up on. They're subtle and they're 'dark' for lack of a better descriptor. This must be the result of the Void Touched trait. Which means it's the influence of my soul, which is the thing I need to get a sense of.</p>
<p>So I pay attention to both my mana and my ki, getting a feel for the Void-ness that affected both of them. Once I feel like I understand it and recognize it, I search for it elsewhere.</p>
<p>It's difficult because my mana and ki run through my entire body, and so I find it everywhere in my body.</p>
<p>I pause as I consider something. I'm assuming that my soul influences my mana and my ki at their central locations and that those two energies then carry the touch of void throughout my body. But what if that's not the case? What if my soul is already present everywhere in my body, and it's visible where it overlaps with the ki and mana, because of the void?</p>
<p>I turn [Void Detect] back on, but I limit its range to just me and I use it to look inside myself for the first time. Despite how I normally use it, technically what the skill does is look for Void, which is usually absent where physical things are, though the nature of it still gives me an accurate approximation of the objects within my range. But that's not what it's meant for.</p>
<p>I find the Void in my body, and I push down and search 'deeper', and all I found is more void. But that makes sense, doesn't it? After all, [Void Detect] senses Void, not souls. It could pick up on magic, but a soul isn't magic. But combined with my new class and my new trait, now that I have a vague sense for it, maybe I can…</p>
<p>I cut off [Void Detect], but keep my attention inwards. With a deep breath, I pull at what I believe is my soul and direct it towards my mana as I use [Void Detect] again.</p>
<p>Instantly, I can tell it works. There's a slight stretching sensation, and as [Void Detect] comes into effect, I can feel how it's different. The biggest difference is the new presence I feel inside myself. And as that presence slowly fades, I realize that it must be my soul.</p>
<p>At which point I panic and cut off the skill. I come back to reality breathing heavily and tired, broken out of my trance. For the first time in ages, I feel out of breath. I check my stats screen, but nothing on it reflects anything wrong with me. My HP, MP, and SP, are all full, and I don't have any status effects applied to me. But I feel winded.</p>
<p>The feeling doesn't last for too long though, and within a couple moments, I feel slightly tired but otherwise fine. I decide to try again, and this time it's a lot easier. I allow [Void Detect] to spread out to its maximum range, and I marvel at all the souls of the people I can feel. Three of them stand out, mostly because there's a connecting line between me and those three. Kyu, Yua, and Asia.</p>
<p>The connection for each of them is different. Kyu feels like a power source, and her connection feeds from her and into my soul. From what Kyu just said, I assume that's the Game. The other two flow from me to them, though the flow from me to Yua is both thicker and of a higher quality than the one to Asia.</p>
<p>Feeling deep fatigue creep over me, I drop the skill. My stat screen still doesn't show anything. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to want to quantify my soul. I doubt it's incapable of it, but whatever the reason is, this will have to be something I train manually.</p>
<p>I look at the time. Somehow I lost three hours in that meditation. Yeah, I think that's enough training for tonight. I'm no longer winded, but for the first time I feel tired and spent, and sleep sounds so inviting. So I slowly crawl my way back into bed and back into position to spoon Asia. I fall asleep nearly instantly.</p>
<hr/>
<p>I wake up to the feeling of movement within my arms and a slightly pleasant feeling at my dick. I slowly blink my eyes open to see Asia in my arms, but she's turned around now and is facing me, her arms wrapped around me as she pulls herself closer to me. This includes pressing her lower stomach against my morning wood.</p>
<p>It seems like, despite her movement, she's still asleep, so I don't move around and simply enjoy the feeling. And I make sure she enjoys it as well by activating [Touch of Pleasure] and [Erotic Pierrot], both on very low levels.</p>
<p>We stay like this for a good five minutes before she wakes up. Like yesterday, she seems slow to wake up, not realizing for several moments what position she's in. But as her eyes clear up, she surprises me by hugging me tighter.</p>
<p>"Hehe, looks like I'm the one that got grabby during the night," she laughs softly.</p>
<p>"You sure did," I reply, amused. "Not that I mind at all though."</p>
<p>"Can we stay like this for a bit longer?" she asks. "You're warm and you feel nice."</p>
<p>"Sure, I'm in no rush to get up," I answer.</p>
<p>She blushes slightly but smiles as she buries her face into my bare chest. I sense a mess of emotions from her with [Empathy]. None of them are very strong, but I can detect embarrassment, pleasure, shame, arousal, and uncertainty from her.</p>
<p>Altogether, they paint a pretty clear picture. Her intentions are a little less pure than even she thinks they are, and she's still working on coming to terms with her crush and the arousal she feels. But she also likes feeling good and wants to indulge in it.</p>
<p>Well, I'm happy to indulge her, especially if it gets her a little more comfortable with this sort of thing. We fall into a comfortable silence, just relaxing and cuddling for a while. I can feel her slowly get more aroused as my skills work away at her. I'm not sure how long we would have stayed like that if it weren't for her stomach growling a few minutes later.</p>
<p>I laugh. "Come on, let's get some food. I've still got fresh pancakes from yesterday."</p>
<p>Her eyes light up, and she untangles herself from me, getting out of the bed. Her nightgown rides up slightly as she does so, revealing some of her creamy white thighs for a moment. She doesn't seem to notice in her excitement though.</p>
<p>I equip some pants as I get up after her, and once again leave the room to let her get changed. Unlike yesterday, the food is already cooked, so I'm already sitting down eating when she arrives at the kitchen, a plate of pancakes waiting for her.</p>
<p>"So today is going to be a lot like yesterday," I say to her after we've both eaten. "We'll spend the morning here. I'll be working on some of my potions again, I need to figure out some logistical stuff so I can start making them in bulk. We won't be going to the dungeon though, so you can do whatever you please around here. You can go back to gardening, or reading the grimoire, or just relax and watch some TV.</p>
<p>"Probably around lunch, maybe a little after, we'll go out. We'll meet with Atsuko, who you met yesterday, and another friend of ours Aika. Atsuko was only told about the three factions yesterday, and she wants to tell Aika about everything. And honestly, so do I. So we'll talk about that, we'll show you around town, and we'll do some shopping for stuff. After that, we'll see where the day takes us. Sound good to you?"</p>
<p>She nods, and after I clean up the dishes we both go to the living room. She immediately goes to the pots and starts gardening, a smile on her face as she hums and encourages their growth with her magic.</p>
<p>I once again sit on the couch, the most comfortable spot for my planning and thinking. Before I start on potions, there are two things I have to do first. Contact Aika and Atsuko, and use my gacha tokens.</p>
<p>I pull out my phone and send a group text to the two of them, asking if they want to get lunch to talk and then show Asia around town. Aika responds pretty quickly, agreeing and curious about Asia, while Atsuko responds a few minutes later with a half garbled text. That's right, getting up in the daytime is probably difficult for her right now. We set a time and a place to meet and I put my phone away.</p>
<p>Now onto the gacha. I feel like I've been using a lot more gacha tokens than usual lately. But then again, I've been in the dungeon a lot, so it makes sense. Either way, I don't hesitate to use them.</p>
<p><strong>Red Tearstone Ring<br/></strong> <strong>Increases damage by 50% when under 20% health</strong></p>
<p><strong>Pale Ore<br/></strong> <strong>A mysterious ore that is chill to the touch</strong></p>
<p><strong>[Iron Body] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>One of six techniques used by the World Governments secret agents. Concentrate and harden your muscles to block damage. Nullifies attacks that would deal less than 214 damage. The user cannot move while the skill is active.</strong></p>
<p>The ring is nice. I leave it alone for now though. It's just a little too valuable to feed to my Omni-Ring, and it's damn risky to use. The pale ore I make a note of, but I can't currently do anything with it. Though I wonder how much of the timing on that is a coincidence, getting some Pale Ore right after picking up the Hollow Knight class.</p>
<p>The skill though, I'm very excited about. Not because of the actual skill itself, but because that means I can potentially get the other skills in the set, and all of them are extremely good in their own right. Not that this one is bad. In fact, I lack a good method of defense outside of the extremely expensive [Void Cloak]. Especially since the skill itself apparently doesn't have a cost.</p>
<p>I decide to test it out and activate it right away. I feel my muscles tense and lock up, and sure enough, there isn't a noticeable change to my SP. It's possible it only uses SP when it blocks damage, or that the amount it uses is lower than how much I regenerate a second. I also note that the skill level didn't go up just from me using it. Maybe it has to block damage?</p>
<p>I set it aside for now. I'll get someone to help me train it later. I'd ask Asia, but the thought of asking Asia to hit me with a crowbar or something doesn't sit right with me. Instead, I start figuring out potions. My goal for right now is to make a full list of all the potions I can potentially make and the best recipes for them using ingredients I can get in bulk.</p>
<p>It takes a couple hours of writing things down, taking out ingredients, using [Alchemy] to get a sense of what they might make, and figuring out which ones I can get in bulk and which ones I can easily grind for in the dungeons.</p>
<p>I'm pleased by how easy some of the ingredients turn out to be. I even discover some new kinds of potions to make, including a beauty potion and a fertility potion. Neither are directly useful to me, but I can sell them for top dollar.</p>
<p>I only have enough ingredients for a Minor Beauty Potion, so I don't bother, but I can and do make an Ultimate Fertility Potion.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Ultimate Fertility Potion<br/>Grants a 100% chance for conception for the next 24 hours.</strong>
</p>
<p>Guaranteed baby-making sex. Considering how many races in this setting struggle with low conception rates, I can charge a premium for these. And since they are mostly made of different kinds of common herbs, they're super cheap to make.</p>
<p>I look at the time. There's still an hour until I'm going to meet with Aika and Atsuko. That's enough time to train some of my new Void skills, especially [Void Travel]. I give Asia a heads up that I might disappear and reappear as I train a skill, and then get to work.</p>
<p>The first thing I discover is that targeting the skill is a lot like targeting [Void Sight]. In fact, it's exactly the same, except that when I use the skill I appear in the targeted location instead of just seeing it. The first thing I do is a few short hops across the room.</p>
<p>The movement is strange. I have to physically take a step in order to teleport, though hops and even falling over works as well, so long as I'm moving in some fashion. And the teleportations themselves are smooth. Far smoother than what the Devils use. With the Devil's teleportation, there's always that sense of movement, a yanking feeling in your gut.</p>
<p>But [Void Travel] really does feel just like stepping. There's a vague flash of darkness, so fast you barely notice it, but otherwise nothing of note.</p>
<p>I start increasing the distances of my jumps. I jump to the school and back. Doing that barely takes any of my MP, making it much more efficient than [Shadow Step]. Next, I go a little further, to the room in the airport where Sona teleported me to and then back. It cost me barely any more MP than the last one. Good, that means I don't have to worry about the MP cost for travel in Kuoh at least.</p>
<p>I spend the next hour jumping around town and back, just leveling up the skill. Each jump didn't seem to offer much XP, but since the MP cost was negligible, I made up for it in quantity. I always jump back to the apartment though, so Asia can see me. She seems a little surprised at first, but after a few jumps, she seems to just ignore my antics.</p>
<p>Partway through I call Yua to hop on my shoulder and take her with me on my trips, just to see if I can bring other people with me. It turns out, I can. It doesn't feel any different and it's only a slight increase in MP.</p>
<p>Shortly before we leave I remember that Asia won't be able to talk with Aika due to the language difference and quickly buy a Babel Fish that will translate everything she hears and says from the Hunie Store for 1,000 Hunie. The Mailman delivers it as quickly as usual, and Asia looks weirded out, but once I explain what it is, she agrees to let me put the small orange fish into her ear, where it disappears without a trace.</p>
<p>Instead of walking I take Asia's hand in mine and teleport us to an out of sight spot close by. Yua and Kyu come with us as well. Yua I instruct to continue leveling her [Fade], something I've been slacking on having her level up lately, and Kyu just doesn't want to miss any more sexy times.</p>
<p>It's a short walk to the family restaurant where we agreed to meet, and since Asia and I are the first ones there we go ahead and grab a table. We pass a couple minutes worth of time with Asia asking me what all the different foods on the menu are and me explaining each one so she can decide what she wants to eat.</p>
<p>Before she decides, Aika and Atsuko come walking in together. Aika is wearing a blue blouse, a black skirt, and black thigh high socks. Atsuko is wearing a red and white striped spaghetti strap top and a red skirt.</p>
<p>I stand up to greet them. "Hey you two," I call out to them as I pull them into a hug. I turn to Asia. "Asia, you and Atsuko met last night, but this is Aika. They're both my girlfriend. Aika, meet Asia. Due to some stuff I'll explain here in a minute, I'm taking care of her for now."</p>
<p>Aika smiles at Asia. "It's nice to meet you Asia." She turns to me. "Are you taking care of her because she's cute? Because really if that's all you explained that would be enough for me."</p>
<p>I chuckle. "No, I agreed before I saw her. Her cuteness is a bonus."</p>
<p>Asia, who started blushing a little when I introduced Atsuko and Aika as both being my lovers, is blushing even harder now. "C- cute?!" she stammers. "No wait, you're dating both of them?"</p>
<p>I motion for everyone to sit down and we pile into the booth, and I go to answer Asia but it's Aika who answers. "Axton has a big big heart and too much love for just one girl to handle," she says with a grin. "So we've all agreed to share Axton so he can spread his love between all of us."</p>
<p>Atsuko blushes a little at Aika's innuendo, but it goes straight over Asia's head. She turns to me, and I feel hope and uncertainty and longing from her with [Empathy]. "Really?"</p>
<p>"I give my love freely, openly, and frequently," I say, continuing Aika's innuendo with a grin. "I have a lot of love to give and enjoy giving it to girls who want it."</p>
<p>Atsuko's eyes widen, but it's not embarrassment that I feel from her, it's arousal. Asia herself is wide-eyed as well, but for a different reason, as that feeling of hope strengthens.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the moment is interrupted by the arrival of a waitress. All four of us quickly order our food. When she leaves, Atsuko speaks up. "So uhh. Axton? Can you start explaining things? I only barely understand things and I don't think I could do a good job."</p>
<p>Aika frowns a little. "Explain what? Asia?"</p>
<p>"She's part of it," I say, "but it's more than just that. There's no point letting you wonder for long, so let me just say it. Magic and the supernatural are real. I've known this for a long time, Asia here has known it for most of her life, and Atsuko was clued in yesterday, and both of us really wanted to clue you in as well."</p>
<p>Aika looks uncertain. "Like...<em>magic</em> magic?"</p>
<p>Atsuko looks around. "Actually, Axton, is it okay to talk about here? With so many people around?" Her concerns aren't entirely unfounded. It's a Saturday at lunchtime, and the place is fairly crowded.</p>
<p>"Don't worry," I reassure her. "I'm making sure no one can hear us." And I am, with [Sound Domain]. I'm not erasing the sound coming from our table, but anything that's a voice is being garbled and muted. To demonstrate for them, I cut off the sound coming from the rest of the restaurant, leaving us in a sudden bubble of silence, with the only sound coming from us.</p>
<p>All three girls jump slightly in surprise and start looking around at all the people that should be making noise. "You're doing this?" Aika asks.</p>
<p>I nod and slowly let sound fade back into our bubble, though I keep it at a low murmur. Honestly, it's pretty good training with my [Sound Domain] skill. "All of the sound in an area around us is under my control."</p>
<p>"That's actual magic?" Aika asks again. "This isn't one of those TV magic things?"</p>
<p>"If you want to be sure, then here, this is probably the least flashy example I can give." I pull the Bloodhound Ring out of my inventory, making it seemingly appear from nowhere, and her eyes widen. I hand it to her. "Put this on, it should increase your sense of smell to be on par with a dog's."</p>
<p>She looks at it, curiosity in her eyes, and slips it onto her finger. I can tell it works because she immediately recoils and takes it off, but her expression is amazed instead of disgusted. "Magic is real," she says to herself. She hands me back the ring. "I don't like that though, there are too many smells."</p>
<p>"That's why I don't usually wear it myself," I say as the ring vanishes in my open palm. "But since I have a nifty little pocket space I can store things in I keep it on me anyway."</p>
<p>"That's so cool," she says. "So you're like a wizard or something?"</p>
<p>"My skill set is a little broader than most magicians, so I'm not sure the label fits," I say. "I'm just good at picking up a bunch of different tricks."</p>
<p>She looks at Asia. "Are you a magician too?"</p>
<p>Asia shakes her head. "I'm a nun with the Church." Her eyes look down. "Or at least, I was."</p>
<p>Aika frowns in confusion. "The Church?"</p>
<p>"You know the Bible? God, Heaven, Devils, Fallen Angels?" I ask. Aika nods, though I notice Atsuko flinch slightly when I say ‘God’. "That's all more or less true. Some of the details are off, but those factions very much exist today. The Church is backed by Heaven. Asia is a healer, and she healed for them for a long time. Until one of the people she healed ended up being a Devil, and the Church, who had touted her healing power as something Holy, turned their backs on her rather than admit they had been lying for their own benefit."</p>
<p>Asia frowns, and I can tell with [Empathy] that she didn't like some aspect of my explanation, but she doesn't say anything. Aika and Atsuko are annoyed though. "Wait, <em>they</em> lied but they threw <em>you</em> out?" Atsuko says. "That's so fucked up!"</p>
<p>"Technically speaking, they didn't lie," I say. "Asia's power does come from the big man upstairs," I address him indirectly to avoid harming Atsuko. "But only in the sense that her healing power is from her Sacred Gear, and he was the one to create the system that allows for Sacred Gears to come into existence. But the fact that her powers can heal anything, including Devils, didn't fit the image they had created for her, so they put the blame on her instead."</p>
<p>"That's just as bad!" Atsuko says heatedly.</p>
<p>Aika tilts her head. "Sacred Gears?"</p>
<p>"Special powers that humans are born with sometimes," I explain briefly. "Asia's is Twilight Healing, and it is a powerful healing Sacred Gear. Atsuko has one as well, though we haven't discovered what it is yet."</p>
<p>"And you have one too," Atsuko reminds me.</p>
<p>"That's what the Devils think," I agree. "But I'm not so sure. Their evidence is mostly that they can't sense me or my magic, and that their best guess is that I have some sort of stealth related Sacred Gear." I shake my head. "My gut tells me that this isn't the case, but I don't have a better explanation to give them."</p>
<p>"The Devils think that?" Aika asks. "What Devils?"</p>
<p>"Rias and the rest of the Occult Research Club," Atsuko answers.</p>
<p>"And the Student Council," I add.</p>
<p>"You're saying that they're Devils?" Aika asks with a frown. "Aren't Devils the bad guys?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "If you asked Heaven and the Fallen, then yes. But all three of those groups don't like each other. Devils are a little hedonistic and power-obsessed, but they're not inherently evil or anything."</p>
<p>"Hedonistic, huh?" Aika says with a grin. "Is that why you've been hanging out with them?"</p>
<p>I chuckle. "No," I deny. "Or at least, that's not the primary reason why. It's because they've been trying to recruit me."</p>
<p>Atsuko fidgets a little at the mention of recruitment but doesn't speak up. Aika does though. "How does a Devil recruit someone?"</p>
<p>"By turning them into a Devil as well," I answer. "They invented these things called Evil Pieces that can turn humans and other races into Devils as part of their Peerage. Then those Peerage members can grow, rise up in the ranks, and form their own Peerage."</p>
<p>I turn my gaze to Atsuko, silently asking if she wanted to tell Aika the rest, or if she wanted me to. Slightly nervous, she nods and turns to Aika. "Actually, Rias also invited me to her peerage too, and after hearing what being a Devil is like, I agreed. She used her Evil Pieces on me yesterday after school."</p>
<p>I sense a jumble of emotions I can't untangle from Aika. "Just like that? What is being a Devil like?"</p>
<p>"Well Devils live forever, and can do magic and stuff," Atsuko starts explaining. "And they're really tough and strong, and like Axton said you can get your own Peerage and if you want you can just make your Peerage full of beautiful girls," she smiles a little lustfully at that last one while her eyes unfocus as she daydreams.</p>
<p>"Aah," Aika makes a noise of understanding. She looks at me. "That actually sounds perfect for you Axton, why didn't you become one?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "Two reasons. First, I have other plans in mind that potentially conflict with joining a Peerage. Second, I don't think either Rias or Sona are strong enough. A young Devil can't add someone far stronger to them to their peerage. Not directly at least."</p>
<p>"So you're not against Devils then?" she asks.</p>
<p>"Not at all," I answer. "Of the three factions, I've gotten along with them the best. Heaven I've had no direct interaction with but the Church was mean to Asia. And my Fallen interaction…" I trail off. "Well, they've been pretty mixed. Azazel seemed like an alright guy, but all the other Fallen I've met, not so much."</p>
<p>"Didn't that one chick try to kill you?" Atsuko points out.</p>
<p>"Yeah that wasn't great," I mention. "Especially since she was hunting Sacred Gear users, which included you, and they had some sinister plans for Asia here, despite Asia going to the Fallen after being kicked out by the church. That's why I'm taking care of her. Apparently, it was just a rogue element inside the Fallen's organization, and the leader seems like an okay dude, but if it happens once, it could happen again, and so Asia and the Fallen's leader agreed it would be better if she stayed with a neutral party like myself." Asia nods and scoots slightly closer to me, and I smile and pat her on the head.</p>
<p>I turn my attention back to Atsuko. "But like I said. The Devil's I've met have all been great. I mean, I've only met one outside of the ones that go to our school. And she was scary strong, but she also dresses up as a magical girl."</p>
<p>Aika grins and Atsuko just looks flabbergasted. "She what? Who?" Atsuko asks.</p>
<p>"Sona's older sister," I say. "One of the four leaders of the Devils. Apparently, if you're one of the strongest Devils, you can do whatever you want."</p>
<p>"I can't believe the Student Council President has a magical girl for an older sister," Atsuko says softly, voice full of wonder.</p>
<p>"Should I become a Devil?" Aika asks, unsure.</p>
<p>"If you want to, I'll support it," I say. "Though why do you want to? If you're not sure about being a Devil, I can potentially provide alternatives."</p>
<p>"I don't know," she admits. "I think I'm still taking it all in. But you've just told me magic is real and I definitely want to know more about that."</p>
<p>"Do you want to learn magic?" I ask. "Because I have a book I picked up that can teach you a certain branch of magic. I can't use it, but with some study, some practice, and a little help from me you should be able to sling some spells in no time."</p>
<p>Her eyes widen. "Really?"</p>
<p>"Yep," I confirm. "I can teach you a few of my tricks as well, but you have potential as a magician." And she does, more than Atsuko at least.</p>
<p><strong>Aika Kiryuu<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 1<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 90<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 120<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 80<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 9<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 8<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 9<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 12<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 12<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 10<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 10</strong></p>
<p>"Then yes, I want to do that," she nods. "I'll think about the Devil and other stuff, but I definitely want to learn magic."</p>
<p>"I'll give you the book later today," I say. "Our food is about to arrive."</p>
<p>Sure enough, just as I finish saying that, our waitress comes around the corner carrying our food. Conversation sorta dies out as she gives us our food and we start eating, but after she leaves it picks back up, more lighthearted than before.</p>
<p>"So what are we doing after this?" Atsuko asks. "Showing Asia around town?"</p>
<p>I nod. "And I thought maybe you two could help her find some new outfits. She only came here with a single suitcase worth of clothes, and it's not a very big suitcase."</p>
<p>Asia's eyes light up. "You mean I can wear all the really pretty clothes that I see on TV?"</p>
<p>"You can wear whatever you want," I reassure her and pat her on the head again. It's just a reflex at this point. Atsuko looks on, looking slightly jealous, but Aika has a scheming glint in her eyes.</p>
<p>"Oh we can definitely do that," Aika says. "And then afterward, we should have a girl's night. Me, Asia, and Atsuko can sleepover at my place and have a slumber party. It would be a great new experience for Asia."</p>
<p>I lock eyes with Aika, and she grins at me. I know exactly what she wants to do. She wants to start corrupting Asia so I can seduce her. "Sure," I agree with a grin. "That sounds like a fun idea to me." You're the best Aika, I can always rely on you for this sort of thing. "How does that sound Asia?"</p>
<p>"I've never been to a slumber party before," she says, equal parts nervous and excited. "I'd love to go to one."</p>
<p>"Then that's settled," I say. "We'll show Asia around town, do some shopping, and then you three will have a girl's night. Oh, but I do ask that you bring Yua with you, so I know if anything happens and can get there immediately."</p>
<p>"Yua?" Aika asks. "Your cat?"</p>
<p>I grin, and telepathically ask her to make her way to us. "My <em>familiar</em>," I correct her.</p>
<p>Yua, partially invisible with the use of [Fade], dashes under the table, hops onto my lap, and then pokes her head above the table. "Hi!"</p>
<p>"She can talk?" Aika exclaims. "That's amazing! She's so cute."</p>
<p>"Ms. Kiyome used a spell on Yua to make it so Yua could talk with everyone and not just Papa and Mama!" Yua explains helpfully.</p>
<p>"Kiyome?" Atsuko says. "Isn't that the rich third-year girl?"</p>
<p>"Papa and Mama?" Aika asks.</p>
<p>"I'm Papa," I explain. "And Momo is Mama since it was the two of us that found her and adopted her. Kiyome is indeed a rich blonde girl who goes to our school. She's human, but her family tames and takes care of all sorts of magical creatures. She offered to use a spell on Yua to let her talk, which I'm very grateful for." I scratch Yua behind her ears as I feed her a bit of food off of my plate.</p>
<p>"Yua is adorable so she can come too," Aika agrees before looking sharply at me. "But not you, this is strictly a girl's night."</p>
<p>"That's fine," I reply with a chuckle. "I can find something to occupy myself with."</p>
<p>"Papa usually goes to the Dungeon at night," Yua comments.</p>
<p>"Ooh?" Aika says. "You have a secret sex dungeon?"</p>
<p>I roll my eyes. "No, not a sex dungeon," I deny. I wasn't planning on telling them yet, but maybe this works better. "I can enter a sort of miniature dimension filled with fake monsters and I use that to train. It reminds me of a dungeon from a roleplaying game, so I call it the Dungeon."</p>
<p>"That's so cool!" Atsuko says. "What do you mean by fake monsters? And what's the dungeon like?"</p>
<p>"I mean fake as in they act like real monsters, but their bodies fade away after I kill them, so I assume they're not real," I answer. "And I've discovered a few different types of dungeons. One's musty and filled with undead, and another one is like a forest filled with magical creatures. And bears.</p>
<p>"If you want, I can bring you girls with me to one of them tomorrow. You can get stronger by training there, and it'll really help. I brought Asia in one yesterday and her magic energy comes back a lot faster now. For Atsuko, we can start getting you stronger and maybe figure out your Sacred Gear and impress Rias. And for you Aika, it's a great place to practice magic and get better at it."</p>
<p>"I'm all for it!" Atsuko proclaims.</p>
<p>Aika looks less sure. "Could I even learn a spell by tomorrow?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "Maybe? We can always work on it tomorrow morning. You're smart, I'm sure we could make some progress."</p>
<p>"In that case, sure," Aika agrees. "Since Atsuko is all for it."</p>
<p>"Awesome," I say. This way I can train them and make them strong, which will make them safer. "How about you Asia?" I ask her.</p>
<p>She pauses. "I don't have to fight, do I?"</p>
<p>"Not if you don't want to," I say.</p>
<p>"Then I'll come too," she says.</p>
<p>"Great!" I say. "But for now, let's finish up lunch so we can show Asia around town and buy her some cute dresses." Asia blushes, but the other two girls smile and we turn our attention back to our meals. Yua curls up on my lap as I occasionally feed her a few pieces of food.</p>
<p>I'm glad that the discussion with Aika went so well. Hopefully I'll be able to train them up to a fighting force, so I won't have to worry about their safety as much.</p>
<hr/>
<p>A few hours later we've dragged Asia all around town and are now deep into clothes shopping. So far we've mostly gotten stuff for Asia. Stuff like casual dresses and more formal wear, and Asia was having a lot of fun trying on all the different clothes. The girls even roped me into trying out something new, and I had to admit, the jacket they picked out for me looks pretty good.</p>
<p>It's like if a zip-up hoodie and a pea coat had a child, with an off-center zipper and the coat overlapping in the front. It also has a wide collar and no actual hood. But it's pretty stylish and it feels comfortable, so I've taken to wearing it already. I bought a few in different colors. The one I'm currently wearing is a sort of mossy green.</p>
<p>While we're in a store that mostly sells women's clothing, Aika pulls Asia away saying something about "a woman's most important weapon", leaving just me and Atsuko. Not that Atsuko seems to mind, as she gleefully goes to pick out a few things and heads directly for a changing room.</p>
<p>I follow her into the changing room after making sure no one was watching and there aren't any cameras. She turns around in surprise. "Axton?" she asks.</p>
<p>"You know, we don't get a lot of one-on-one time," I say as I approach her and wrap my arms around her. "I mean, hot threesomes are great, but you know what sounds really appealing to me right now?" I kiss her neck as my hands reach under her skirt to grab her ass.</p>
<p>"Here?" she asks, panicking slightly even as I feel her arousal spike. "Now? I mean, we don't have the time, what if someone hears-"</p>
<p>"No one will hear us," I cut her off. "Remember, I can control that. And just one round, just me and you. Doesn't the idea of doing it here, in a changing room sound hot? Isn't this something you've fantasized about? I know I have."</p>
<p>She hesitates for just a moment, but then throws her arms around my neck and kisses me back, hard. "One round," she says after she pulls back, and I grin.</p>
<p>I lift her up, supporting her weight entirely with my grip on her ass and her arms around my neck before I push her against the wall, our lips locked and tongues dancing the entire time. I paw at her breasts before being annoyed at the cloth in my way and I stash it in my inventory before taking it back out and dropping it to the ground.</p>
<p>She gasps as the air suddenly touches her bare skin. "You-" she starts, but I cut her off by pinching one of her now exposed nipples. Apparently, she went without a bra today. She moans loudly, the sound being drawn out as I tweak her nipple. I'm using [Sound Domain] to make sure no one hears, but I can feel as she forgets that for a moment and freezes, her arousal spiking slightly before calming down.</p>
<p>She moans again as my lips find her other nipple. "Axtoooon," she says, half whining half moaning. "Just stick it in, we don't need foreplay."</p>
<p>"Oh?" I ask as I move my hand to discover that she's already soaked her panties. "I see someone's more into the dressing room than I thought," I tease with a grin. She opens her mouth to protest, but I interrupt her with a quick kiss before leaning in and whispering in her ear. "That's so hot."</p>
<p>Stashing my pants and underwear into my inventory, my manhood suddenly finds itself resting against her damp panties, which I'm quick to move to the side so I can push myself inside of her, making sure to use all of my lewd skills as I do so.</p>
<p>She moans loudly as I fill her up, both of us taking in the feeling of her new Devil body. She was tight before, and she is still, but it's different. Even before I use [Imbue Elasticity] it feels like she already has it active. Tight, but able to be split open easier than in the past, where I've had to gradually loosen her up.</p>
<p>Her arousal hits the roof and she pulls herself closer to me, catching my lips with a hungry kiss. I respond in kind, pulling her off the wall and using just my arms to lift her up and down, repeatedly impaling her. Her moans slip out between breaths and kisses and fill the changing room. [Sound Domain] makes sure none of them escape the room, but I do make sure to make them sound louder in her ears, and I can feel her tighten around me with every moan.</p>
<p>At this frantic rate, it doesn't take long for either of us to cum, and as I feel her clench and as she moans into my mouth with her own orgasm, I let my own climax wash over me and slam as deep into her as I can get. I can feel her inner walls convulsing around me as I pump my seed into her, filling her to the brim.</p>
<p>Finally, my orgasm ends, and I gently set Atsuko down on the ground. "Huh," she comments. "I don't feel as worn out as normal."</p>
<p>"I've been told that Devils have 'lewd bodies'," I explain. "I could certainly feel the difference."</p>
<p>She blushes. "Yeah, that was intense." She looks down with a frown. "Is that why I'm not leaking right now?"</p>
<p>I shrug, bending down to pick up her discarded shirt and handing it back to her. "Maybe?"</p>
<p>She takes it and starts putting it back on. "I feel like I could go for another round, but we probably don't have time for that."</p>
<p>"Nope," I confirm. "Asia and Aika are looking around for us right now." [Void Detect] and [Sound Domain] gave me a pretty clear idea of everything going on around me.</p>
<p>Atsuko freezes. "Aika's definitely going to realize."</p>
<p>"Probably," I agree. "But Asia won't."</p>
<p>She sighs. "I can live with that. Come on, get out of here, and let me actually try these clothes on."</p>
<p>I laugh and exit, making sure the coast is clear.</p>
<p>I might not be training right now, but it's fine. Sometimes you need to be reminded of why you train. I smile as Asia and Aika spot me and head in my direction. Worry about the future later, enjoy the present now.</p>
<hr/>
<p>An hour or so later, after the girls, Kyu included, have left to do their slumber party, I start shopping around for more alchemy ingredients. I made sure to give Aika the Grimoire of Dark Magic and to apply [Erotic Dreams] to all of them, since the maximum number of people I can use the skill on went up after it leveled from being used on Asia.</p>
<p>This morning I discovered that a lot of my potions can be made with ingredients that are relatively easy to buy in bulk, but for some, I can only partially supply the ingredients in bulk. So my goal for tonight is to find substitutions for the ones I can't buy in bulk so I can mass produce all of the recipes I've discovered.</p>
<p>It's as I'm walking the aisles of some beauty shop looking for more ingredients to use in some Beauty Potions, I run into two familiar faces. Sona and Tsubaki.</p>
<p>"Hey ladies," I greet them. "We sure do seem to run into each other a lot, don't we?"</p>
<p>"I'm surprised to find you in a place like this though," Sona replies. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place that caters to you. Unless you're searching for a gift?"</p>
<p>"Ingredients, actually," I laugh. "You wouldn't believe the sorts of things I've turned into useful potions."</p>
<p>"Potions?" Sona asks, curious.</p>
<p>"Have I not told you guys about my potions?" I ask. "I'm sure I mentioned it at some point." I think back. "Oh, right. It was after that thing with the Fallen angels."</p>
<p>"I remember now," Tsubaki says. "You mentioned it when you were listing what you could do, and I believe we all were distracted by everything else and didn't question you more on them."</p>
<p>"Yeah, a lot was going on then," I say. "Still, I'm surprised they haven't come up again since then, they're super useful."</p>
<p>"Oh?" Sona asks. "What sort of potions do you make? I'm afraid I haven't really heard of any potion makers before."</p>
<p>"Well, I have your standard ones for healing, restoring magic, and restoring stamina," I start.</p>
<p>Sona cuts me off. "Wait, you can make potions like that?" She has a calm mask on, but I can feel her getting excited. "How effective are they?"</p>
<p>"So far the ones I've made can practically instantly heal grievous wounds," I say, trying to estimate what 50% and 75% max HP translates to. "But I've been working on a new recipe that should be able to completely heal any wounds. Doesn't do much for illnesses, but I have a different potion for that."</p>
<p>"You can really do all that?" Sona asks.</p>
<p>"And more," I confirm. "I figured out a couple new recipes this morning. I have maybe 20 or so potions I can make."</p>
<p>I can see Sona's mind racing. "Are you willing to trade or sell these potions?"</p>
<p>"I've been thinking about selling some of them, yeah," I say. "The problem right now is that I'm working on figuring out recipes with ingredients I can get in bulk. Some of the ones I use right now are rare or hard to buy. I've been trying to grow my own, but there's only so much room in my tiny apartment."</p>
<p>"Would you be open to making a deal then?" Sona asks, in full business mode already. "We can supply you with ingredients and anything you need in exchange for the potions."</p>
<p>"I'm open to negotiations, sure," I answer. "Some help in procuring ingredients would save me a lot of time. Surely you don't expect me to give you potions for just the cost of the ingredients though, right?" I grin. "Especially since I finally cracked the code on Fertility potions."</p>
<p>Both of them freeze, though Sona recovers herself quickly. "Are you busy right now?" she asks suddenly.</p>
<p>"I mean, aside from the shopping, no," I say. "Why?"</p>
<p>"I want to make this more official," she says. "If you have a potion like that…" she trails off. "Well, that's big. I'm sure Momo has told you about Devil's struggling to reproduce."</p>
<p>"It's something that's come up a few times, yes," I say. "And it's part of why I started trying to make this kind of potion. I know how valuable it could be."</p>
<p>"Something as valuable as this, if they work, is something I need to bring my sister into," she says, slightly regretfully. "While I could provide you some recompense for them as the Sitri Heiress, for something on this scale it would be best left in the hands of my sister, especially since you aren't a devil. Yet." She gives me a fierce look. "I haven't given up on recruiting you."</p>
<p>"So you want to bring her into this," I say while nodding. "Makes sense. Sure, I'm down. I'd love to talk more with the super-powerful magical girl."</p>
<p>Sona closes her eyes and sighs, and I see Tsubaki's eyes twinkle with barely constrained amusement. "Somehow I get the feeling that I'm going to regret this."</p>
<p>Sona leads us to a nearby restaurant that offers discreet and private rooms. Apparently, it's often used for business deals. You wouldn't think there would be enough of that going on in Kuoh to warrant it, but maybe this town is more of a business hotspot than I thought.</p>
<p>Serafall is already waiting for us in one of those rooms when we arrive. Sona had called her on the way over and I guess she was able to drop whatever she had going on to teleport here immediately. Sadly she's not in her magical girl outfit but instead is dressed in a black business suit with a knee-length skirt and stockings. Her jacket and shirt below it are cut low enough to show a little skin but still be professional.</p>
<p>She stands up as we walk in. "Axton! My precious little Sona tells me you have quite the surprise up your sleeve."</p>
<p>I shake her proffered hand. I don't activate any of my skills. Do I want to seduce Serafall? Hell yes I do. Does she terrify me and make me hesitant to do anything even slightly out of place? Oh yeah. So no [Touch of Pleasure] or [Erotic Pierrot] or anything of that nature. Although…</p>
<p>"And she tells me that you can help me get the ball rolling on production," I say as we sit down. With my hands hidden beneath the table, I quickly withdraw and use a Super Heart Crystal, bringing Serafall's Affection from 34 to 54.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Serafall Leviathan<br/>[Defender of Love and Justice] - Increases Affection Gain with Magical Girls by 20%</strong>
</p>
<p>If I had thought ahead I could've used a Large one yesterday and a Super one tonight to get her even higher, but above 50 is pretty good already.</p>
<p>"So," she starts when we're all sitting. "Let's cut to the chase. Tell me about this fertility potion."</p>
<p>I pull the potion in question out and set it on the table. The liquid inside is pink and milky. "This is what I dub my Ultimate Fertility Potion. Ultimate is a tier, mind you, not just a cool-sounding adjective. Ultimate tier potions are the best ones I can currently make. I just discovered the recipe for this one this morning, so I only have the one and I haven't tested it yet. But, if my understanding of it is right, and it always has been with my other potions, this should guarantee conception for 24 hours."</p>
<p>I feel shock coming from all three of them with [Empathy]. "Guarantee? Even on a race with low fertility?" Serafall asks me.</p>
<p>"I have no reason to think it won't work on any race," I say. "It doesn't actually affect fertility, and instead magically ensures the success of fertilization," I bullshit. I have no idea how it works, but I trust in the Game to make it work.</p>
<p>"Here," I say and I push the potion towards her. "Take this one, free. Consider it a sample. You can test it, verify it works, and any deal we make can be contingent on that."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p>
<p>"Are you sure?" Serafall asks, even as she reaches for it.</p>
<p>"I only had ingredients to make the one," I say. "But that's more due to happenstance than anything else. It's not expensive to make, just difficult." I considered playing up the cost of the ingredients, but I have a plan in mind for this conversation and I need to be truthful about the ingredients for it to work. Which is why I emphasized the difficulty, even though it's not really hard.</p>
<p>"Besides," I continue. "I know that I'm making some pretty bold claims. Without seeing the results of it yourself, it will be difficult to bargain in good faith."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Tsubaki Shinra</strong>
</p>
<p>Oh? I guess Tsubaki likes that logic? Though I feel similar levels of gratitude and respect from all of them. Maybe it was only her Affection that was low enough to go up from something like that?</p>
<p>"Thank you, Axton. I'll put it to good use," Serafall promises.</p>
<p>"It shouldn't matter who drinks it either," I say. "One person needs to drink the entire thing for it to work, but it doesn't matter if it's the guy or the girl. My advice? Give it a male with a harem that he wants to knock up and let him go crazy for the next 24 hours."</p>
<p>"Oh? What happens if both partners drink it?" she asks.</p>
<p>"Hmm," I say, trying to guess. "It wouldn't cancel each other out or anything, but I'm not sure it would offer any benefit. It <em>might</em> increase the chance of fraternal twins? Something to test once I make more."</p>
<p>"Can you?" Serafall says. "Make more that is? You said the ingredients weren't expensive?"</p>
<p>"They aren't," I confirm. "Not to go into details about how I make them, but the physical ingredients I need are often somewhat random. Not completely, there are patterns to what works. But there's no real correlation between ingredient rarity and the effect of the potion. The Fertility potion is a case where a very useful potion is cheap to make, but I also have the opposite case where the only recipe I've figured out for some less useful potions uses expensive or rare ingredients.</p>
<p>"They're still not easy to make though. Not very time consuming, but that's because I've spent a long time refining my processes. I don't have any intention of extortion, but just because the ingredients are cheap doesn't mean I'm going to sell them cheaply."</p>
<p>"I understand completely," Serafall says seriously. "And I wouldn't ask you to."</p>
<p>"The downside is, I'm not sure what price to put on these. In short, I need to do some market research, and I need to do all sorts of business management stuff I haven't done yet. But, rather than sell them to you, I am willing to offer you a one time trade. A batch of these fertility potions in exchange for the ingredients they need and what I need to set up a proper production."</p>
<p>Serafall smiles. "That's perfectly acceptable. What do you need?"</p>
<p>"To be honest, what I need is a house," I say. I feel small notes of surprise from them all. "A large one, with space where I can grow a lot of my own ingredients. I have some rare plants that I can't buy anywhere but are easy enough for me to grow in large quantities if I have space. And honestly, I just want more space than my cramped apartment. But as a 16-year-old, real estate is difficult for me to purchase myself. So, for housing with enough land for me to grow whatever I need and the ingredients themselves, I'll provide you with fifty of the potions."</p>
<p>I'm instantly hit with a huge amount of shock radiating from all of them. "<em>Fifty</em>?" Serafall asks. "Are- are you sure? Just for that?"</p>
<p>...I may have underestimated how valuable these potions are to them, despite my speech. Still, it's too late to back down without looking like a dick, and if I'm stupidly generous then the Affection with Serafall will be worth it.</p>
<p>"As I said, I'm not interested in extorting the Devils for this. For the amount of work and my expertise in making potions, that seems fair to me." I reason. "I can even have them done tonight. I've fine-tuned my process enough that it doesn't take too long. If you can get me the ingredients tonight, I can have them ready for pick up by morning."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p>
<p>"There's no need to rush them that much," Serafall says. "But if the ingredients are as easy to get as you say, then I can probably arrange for them to be sent to your place by tonight. As for the rest, if testing with this first one proves fruitful, I'll start arranging the rest of it. That should only take a day or two."</p>
<p>I pull out a scrap of paper and a pen and start making a list. "Here, this is what I need," I say when I finish, handing her the list of ingredients. I kept the ingredient list mostly truthful, though I doubled how much of everything I needed. Making 100 Ultimate tier potions should max out my [Alchemy] class, or at least get me close. This way I have something to sell to the other races too.</p>
<p>Serafall glances over the list. "Really? This is all you need?"</p>
<p>"I said they were cheap, didn't I?" I say. "Really, it's the amount that is annoying for me. You get a lot of weird looks buying some of those things in bulk at the grocery store."</p>
<p>"I suppose," she says. "Still, I can get this on your doorstep within a couple hours, even in these amounts."</p>
<p>"Great!" I say. "Looks like we have a deal then. And once I get set up, I'll set up a store or something and we can discuss more deals then."</p>
<p>"Sounds good to me!" Serafall says, and I can tell from her tone that she's back out of business mode. "Come on, let's celebrate with some dinner. The sirloin here is fantastic."</p>
<p>The atmosphere relaxes as Serafall calls in a waiter and orders sirloin steaks for all of us. I noticed during the talk that Sona was feeling tense, but she's more relaxed now.</p>
<p>The steaks come out within a couple minutes, and we chat casually while we eat.</p>
<p>"So Axton, I notice you're going for a new look," Sona mentions.</p>
<p>"My new jacket?" I say. "Yeah, I was shopping with the girls earlier and they picked it out for me."</p>
<p>"Well, they chose well," Sona says matter of factly. "It suits you."</p>
<p>"Thanks, Sona," I say with a wink. "I'll let them know you think they did a good job." I notice Serafall looking on at our interaction with interest, and decide to tease Sona just a little bit. "You know, last time we ran into each other, it led to a chess game. We should have another game soon. I've been practicing, and I think I might be able to beat you soon."</p>
<p>A slight blush creeps up Sona's neck and at the tip of her ears, but she does a good job keeping a calm mask. "I've been practicing as well," she replies only a little stiffly. "When we get some time we'll have to play again. I've been using that chess set you gave me, it's been making my games much more satisfying."</p>
<p>"Ooh, Axton gave Sona a chess set?" Serafall chimes in with a teasing grin.</p>
<p>"I pick up a lot of interesting things," I explain. "And one of them was a nice magically animated chess set. I figured Sona would get more use out of it than I would, and I'm glad to see that I was right. I'm glad you're enjoying it, Sona."</p>
<p>"It was a thoughtful gift," Sona says with a nod.</p>
<p>Serafall doesn't comment further, but there's obvious interest in her eyes.</p>
<p>It doesn't take long for us to finish our steaks, and I make my excuses and travel back home, walking out of the building before [Void Traveling]. I check up the girls briefly with [Void Sight], able to focus it directly on Yua instead of trying to figure out where Aika lives, and they seem to be doing alright. They're eating as well, though it's more casual fare. Still, they're safe, and that's enough.</p>
<p>I leave them to their fun as my thoughts turn to tonight. I have a couple of hours to kill before those ingredients get here, so I may as well work on my [Alchemy]. And maybe my [Poison Resistance] as well, it's been a while since I've done that.</p>
<p>I once again sit on my couch and start pulling out ingredients. Yeah, it'll be nice when I get a proper lab for this.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"One, two, three, another chance spot!" Asia cheered as she moved her piece along the board. She drew a chance card and read it out loud. "You accidentally trigger a trap. Thankfully, it activates the trap somewhere else. The player on your right moves back five spaces to avoid the trap." She looked at Atsuko. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"</p>
<p>Atsuko sighed. "No, it's okay. Accidents happen, and you can't control the chance cards." She reached down to the board and moved her piece, which was already a distance behind the other two pieces, and moved it back five more spaces. Then she turned to Aika. "It's your turn Aika."</p>
<p>"Hmm?" Aika asked as she looked up from the book she was reading. "Oh right, sorry." She rolled the dice, rolling a seven. As she moved her piece up, passing Asia's piece on the way, Atsuko spoke up.</p>
<p>"Is that grim-thingy really that interesting?" Atsuko asked.</p>
<p>"Grimoire," Aika corrected her. "And of course it is! Today I discovered that my boyfriend is magic, my girlfriend is a Devil, and I was given a book that can teach me magic."</p>
<p>"I guess if you put it like that," Atsuko admitted.</p>
<p>Asia fidgeted slightly. "I know you kind of explained it before, but are you both really dating Axton?"</p>
<p>Aika's attention fully focused on Asia at her question, and she closed the grimoire as a smile spread across her face. "We sure are," Aika confirmed. "And not just us, Axton's dating two more girls too. Both are Devils now that I think about it."</p>
<p>"Harems are normal for Devils," Atsuko comments. "They explained that before they reincarnated me."</p>
<p>"Four girls?" Asia asked, surprised. "Isn't that cheating?"</p>
<p>"Not if we all agree to it," Aika countered. "Which we did. Like I said earlier, Axton has a lot of love, and he likes spreading it, but it's too much for just one of us, so we share it." Atsuko blushed as Aika repeated her innuendo. "But this way everyone's happy," she continued. "We all feel loved, which makes us happy, and Axton gets to share his love, which makes him happy."</p>
<p>"I never would have thought about it like that," Asia said in a wondering tone. "I guess, if everyone's happy and is okay with it, then it's fine."</p>
<p>"Exactly," Aika confirmed with a smirk. "Besides, it also means I get to share a little love with my cute little Atsuko too." She latched on to Atsuko and kissed her deeply on the lips while Asia watched with widening eyes and a blush creeping up her face.</p>
<p>Aika broke off the kiss after just a few moments and winked at Asia. Atsuko looked shocked, but also pretty pleased with what just happened.</p>
<p>"But- two girls- you can't-" Asia stammers, confused and embarrassed.</p>
<p>"It's fine," Aika denied. "We're both dating Axton, but he's not here right now, so we're just sharing the love he gives to us and we feel for him between the two of us. It makes us both happy, and it makes Axton happy to know that we can be happy and loved even when he's not around."</p>
<p>Asia doesn't seem convinced. "Really?"</p>
<p>"He just really wants us to be happy," Aika claimed. "And he works really hard to make that happen."</p>
<p>"I guess that's true," Asia says. "He's done a lot for me too, all because I wanted to stay with the person who saved me, even though he didn't know I even existed. But despite my selfishness, he's been really nice and kind and he's let me experience new things and meet new people and I'm really grateful for that."</p>
<p>"That's just the kind of guy he is," Aika said, and Atsuko nods in agreement.</p>
<p>"What's it like living with Axton?" Atsuko asks suddenly.</p>
<p>"It's very different from the Church," Asia answered while she thought about it. "I've only been there a couple days, so I'm not sure what normal is yet. He said he talked to someone and I'd be able to go to school. But so far it's been...relaxed? We've spent the past couple of mornings just doing some simple work and then usually the afternoons we go around town. Axton seems like he's always busy with something or someone."</p>
<p>"He did mention that he has a lot going on the other day," Aika said. "But wait, his apartment is pretty tiny, and it's all Western-style and he uses a bed instead of a futon. Where do you guys sleep? Does he sleep on the couch?"</p>
<p>Asia blushed. "Ah, well. He was going to do that, but I didn't think it was right for him to in his own home. So we eventually compromised and we're kind of sharing the bed."</p>
<p>Aika's grin widens. "Oooh? What's that like?"</p>
<p>"It's warm and comfortable," Asia admitted. "It makes me feel safe. But it gives me weird dreams."</p>
<p>"What kind of dreams?" Atsuko asked.</p>
<p>"Umm, well," Asia hesitated. "I had a dream last night where I was sitting on his lap. And we were both in our underwear." She trailed off there.</p>
<p>"And? What next?" Aika asked, prodding the other girl on.</p>
<p>"He- he had his arms wrapped around me," she continued, a blush creeping up her face as she got more embarrassed. "And I could feel his- his thing. Pushing into my bottom." She stops, face flushed.</p>
<p>"Is that it?" Aika asked.</p>
<p>Asia hesitated. "He also was kissing the back of my neck," she admitted in a rush before burying her reddened face into her hands.</p>
<p>"That is <em>adorable</em>," Aika commented with a caring smile. She turned to Atsuko. "I think it's pretty obvious what's happening here."</p>
<p>Atsuko nods. "It's going to be five girls soon."</p>
<p>"Five girls?" Asia asked, confused, before it clicked, and she grew even redder. "I- you mean- me and Axton- there's no way-"</p>
<p>"Please," Aika interrupts. "It's obvious you've got the biggest crush on him. And you're the most adorable little thing, I'm sure he likes you too. If he hasn't made a move yet, it's probably because he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable."</p>
<p>Asia paused and didn't say anything for a moment. "You think so?" She eventually asked in a small voice.</p>
<p>"I'd bet you anything that if you start giving him obvious signs that you're interested, he'll pick up on them immediately and start acting on them," Aika said.</p>
<p>"How would I do that?" Asia asked, and Aika grinned.</p>
<p>"Here's what you do…"</p>
<hr/>
<p>The first thing I did when I got back was make five Ultimate Poisons and started soaking my Poisonous Sheath in them. So far I've been going against a lot of undead where the poison isn't very helpful, especially since [Void Edge] let me one-shot most things, but it will vastly improve my damage when I can't score a critical hit.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Ultimate Poison<br/>1008 damage per second for 60 seconds</strong>
</p>
<p>I was going to then drink that to level up my [Poison Resistance] but even with that skill, the poison does too much damage. Thankfully I have weaker versions still.</p>
<p>Though only the Major Poisons do enough damage to actually level up the skill but not so much that I'm at risk of going below 50% health, so I make some more of those while drinking them. I would do what I did with [Void Blood] and balance it out with restoration potions, but I don't get XP in the skill unless my health actually goes down.</p>
<p>As I get the skill above 61 and the Major Poisons stop doing a very good job, I sense someone land on the balcony in front of my door with [Void Detect]. I stash all of my ingredients and such and head for the door before they even knock.</p>
<p>"I thought you would send someone rather than come out here yourself," I greet Serafall, who is now dressed in her magical girl outfit. "I'm flattered. Please, come in."</p>
<p>"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," she explains as she comes in and I shut the door behind her. "So I figured I'd swing by and drop off the ingredients myself."</p>
<p>I lead her to the living room. "Well I certainly don't mind seeing you again," I comment. "Please, have a seat. You want anything to eat or drink?"</p>
<p>She sits down, looking weirdly out of place in her magical girl outfit on my plain couch. "No thank you, I don't have that much free time, so I'll have to be relatively quick with this."</p>
<p>"Understandable," I say as I pull up a chair across from her. "So, to business then."</p>
<p>"First, here are your ingredients," she says, waving her hand. A magic circle appears on the table and a large box appears on top of it. "And second, I wished to talk to you about something of a more personal nature."</p>
<p>"And what's that?" I say as I wrack my brain. Her Affection is pretty high now at 74, but that's not high enough for her to make a move. Something to do with Sona then?</p>
<p>"You mentioned earlier at dinner that you played chess against Sona?" she starts. "Are you aware that for years, Sona has been using her skill at chess to ward away suitors? She's refused to marry anyone that can't beat her in chess, and our parents have accepted that, though they're growing annoyed that no one's beaten her yet." She bites her thumb in irritation. "I myself have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, only the best should have a chance at my precious little Sona, but on the other hand, those who can beat her in chess haven't tried and it pisses me off that they're not scrambling at the chance to marry her. Not that I'd let them."</p>
<p>Wow, she has it bad, huh? I wonder how many of those who can beat Sona in chess are also smart enough to know Serafall would never let it happen? "Well to address your points, yes I've played a few friendly games with her. She kicked my ass the first time, but it awoke my competitive spirit and our last match was very close. No, I didn't know she used chess to ward off suitors, but it fits her perfectly so I have no trouble believing it. And finally, I agree, Sona deserves the best."</p>
<p>"I'm glad you understand," she says primly. "But that is what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, it's not that Sona doesn't want to marry anyone that isn't smarter than her, or at least it's not just that, but she's just not interested in marriage at all, especially any that are arranged. My Sona is a prideful girl who wants to be able to make her own decisions. And if she holds out long enough, she will be able to.</p>
<p>"But tonight I saw something from her that I've never seen before," Serafall continues. "It looks like she has a little crush on you~"</p>
<p>"There's been a little bit of back and forth flirting," I admit, hoping she doesn't get protective. "It can be hard to tell with Sona, but the signs are there."</p>
<p>"The way Sona plays it cool but gets all embarrassed is so cute," Serafall coos. "But yes, I've noticed the two of you. I've been paying very close attention to you, Axton."</p>
<p>Ah. Shit. "I thought I've felt someone watching me," I fib. "But I could never sense anyone who it could be nearby."</p>
<p>"Please, I'm not an amateur," Serafall dismisses. "I've been spying on Sona for years, and I've had to get very good at it so she doesn't notice." She pouts. "For some reason she doesn't like me watching her."</p>
<p>"I can't imagine why," I say in a deadpan voice.</p>
<p>"Me either," she says earnestly. "But I'm very good at it. And when a strange boy like yourself starts getting close to my precious little sister, I pay <em>very</em> close attention. And there's one thing I've figured out about you."</p>
<p>I struggle to not panic. Has she figured out I'm manipulating Sona and Rias into fighting over me? Does she know that my history is fake? The scary thing is that her emotions have barely registered any change over the whole conversation, she's just been confident the whole time. "And what's that?" I ask casually.</p>
<p>She grins. "You're a pervert."</p>
<p>I blink in surprise, staring dumbfounded at her for a moment. "I mean. Yeah, I guess that's true," I say, caught off guard. "Is this the part where you say 'you pervert you better stay away from Sona'?"</p>
<p>"The opposite actually," she says with a smug grin. "In fact, I think you're the perfect match for Sona."</p>
<p>That is not the answer I expected, though I think I see the direction this is going now. Still, I'd rather hear it from her to be sure. "Can you explain your reasoning for that?" I ask.</p>
<p>"Well for one, the fact that Sona actually likes you puts you ahead of just about anyone else," Serafall says casually. "Which is fine and all, but there are a few things specific to you that mean I can use you to enact my plan."</p>
<p>"What plan is that?" I ask immediately. "And do I benefit from it as well?"</p>
<p>"Of course," she replies immediately. "See, you're a pervert, and I've seen the way you look at me. You're not the only one who finds me attractive. But there's only one person that I really want to be with."</p>
<p>"Sona," I supply, surprising her for the first time. I roll my eyes. "Oh please. There are rumors, and I'm not so bad at sniffing out information myself. Plus, the entire conversation has made it clear that your love for Sona is less than pure." I smile. "But please, continue. I'm very interested in this plan of yours."</p>
<p>She looks at me, and I see my own smile reflected back at me on her expression. "You know, I think I see what Sona likes about you," she comments. "As you've said, I'm in love with my little sister. But I can't act on these feelings, not without consequence. And while Sona loves me, it's not in quite the same way. But if, hypothetically, Sona were to be courted by a powerful young magician who moved in and started helping her, and if I were to be seduced by the person responsible for creating the potions that will save our race, then wouldn't it be fine if the two of us, as your lovers, also shared some quality time with each other?"</p>
<p>"I certainly don't see a problem with it," I say, grinning. This is going better than I possibly could have hoped for. Approval from Serafall to seduce Sona, and I get Serafall too? I couldn't ask for a better outcome. "And I'm sure that with a little bit of time, I could encourage Sona to broaden her horizons and to try new things."</p>
<p>"That's what I'm counting on," Serafall says. "So we have a deal? You officially court Sona, encourage her to try new things, and in return, I'll gladly become one of your girls."</p>
<p>"I'd have to be an idiot to turn down such a deal," I say. "I was already interested in both you and Sona after all. Sona because she's Sona, but I also have a thing for magical girls."</p>
<p>"Is that so?" she asks, intrigued. "Well, that just shows you have good taste. As to be expected from someone who has earned Sona's approval. Unfortunately for you, you'll have to wait until you make some progress with Sona before you can get me in your bed."</p>
<p>"I'll eagerly wait for my reward," I say. "Though it feels odd to be rewarded for something that is already a reward." Easy pro-tip for earning Serafall's favor, just keep praising Sona.</p>
<p>"It's a situation where everyone wins," Serafall says. "Speaking of which, your potions. I gave the potion you gave me to a lucky young male from some minor family who has a full peerage of fifteen women who all wanted to get impregnated. I hadn't even left by the time their fun started, so we should know soon if your potions work. Once I have confirmation, I'll get to work on your new housing. Do you have any other preferences for it?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "Something nice so I won't want to upgrade it or move again within a year or two. And something within Kuoh. It's convenient being close to the center of town."</p>
<p>"Both are easy to arrange," she says cheerfully. "Now, if that's all, I should probably get back to work."</p>
<p>An idea occurs to me. I don't need to do it, but I think I'll like how it will play out. "One more thing," I say.</p>
<p>"Oh?" she says, stopping from where she started to get up. "Did you need something else?"</p>
<p>"The opposite actually," I say, and I pull the Imaginary Porn Tablet out of my inventory. "I have something of a gift for you. I'm not willing to part with it permanently, but until I fulfill my end of the bargain, I'm willing to let you borrow this."</p>
<p>She eyes the tablet, unsure. "What exactly is that?"</p>
<p>"I pick up a lot of strange things," I say. "And this is one of the weirdest. I wish I knew who made it because it's beautiful. This tablet can create realistic porn of <em>anything</em>. Punch in your request, your kink, the person it features, the format, and any other information you want. And it creates it. I have no idea how it works, but it does."</p>
<p>Her eyes widen. "The blackmail potential of it alone…" she wonders.</p>
<p>I shake my head and make a small noise of disapproval. "You're thinking too small Serafall," I say, and I work at the tablet, bringing up a specific video. "I'm sure spying on Sona is great and all, but you know what's better?" I ask. I press play on one of the videos and flip it around so she can see.</p>
<p>I feel a spike of arousal so strong with [Empathy] that I suspect I'm going to find a wet spot on my couch when she leaves. She snatches the tablet out of my hands hungrily staring at the video of herself eating out Sona in dominatrix gear.</p>
<p>"This, this is," she says, flabbergasted.</p>
<p>"It's not real, but it looks convincing doesn't it?" I say with a grin. I hear Sona moan in arousal as the video plays, and Serafall can't stop watching even as one hand goes below her skirt and starts masturbating without a care that I'm watching.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p>
<p>"And you're just giving this to me?" she says distractedly. From my angle, I can clearly see her hand shoved into her panties and furiously working away at herself.</p>
<p>"Letting you borrow it," I correct her. "You weren't wrong about the blackmail potential, and I might need it for something else in the future. But by the time I need it, we'll have turned that video into a reality."</p>
<p>She forcefully tears her gaze away from the screen and looks at me. "I'm so glad I chose you for this," she says genuinely. Then she suddenly stands up. "I need to get back and take care of this quickly," she says. She bends over and pulls her panties off before throwing them at me. "Here, have fun with those while I have fun with this."</p>
<p>Before I can reply a magic circle appears beneath her feet and she vanishes, teleporting away.</p>
<p>Well then. I take hold of the very cute and <em>very</em> wet panties and I'm tempted for a moment to use them as she described. I haven't masturbated since arriving on this world, but the sight of Serafall fucking Leviathan masturbating on my couch in her full magical girl outfit had left me horny as hell.</p>
<p>I sigh and stash them away in my inventory. I said I'd get these potions done tonight. I can ignore a little bit of horniness. It'll be worth the good reputation I earn with the Devils, and Serafall especially.</p>
<p>So instead of dropping my pants or calling up a girl for a booty call, I turn to the box that Serafall left me and open it up to discover twice the number of ingredients I asked her for. I smile. Perhaps being overly generous was a good move, if this is the kind of thing it earns. Pulling them out and placing them on the table, I have my automated mortar and pestle start turning them into neat little piles of powder. I have a long night ahead of me.</p>
<hr/>
<p>I sit back as the first rays of sunshine come in through my windows. It took all night, mostly due to having to prepare all of the ingredients, but I did it. 100 Ultimate Fertility Potions, and finally, [Alchemy] is maxed out.</p>
<p><strong>[Alchemy] - Level 100(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Combine ingredients, items, and materials to create something from them. Limited to five ingredients max. Skill can also be used to find out what would be made from held ingredients. The results of Alchemy can be used as ingredients.</strong></p>
<p>As I suspected, the number of ingredients I could use didn't go up, but the skill description did change. My previous limitation of not being able to use my potions as ingredients is gone now, and I can't even imagine how many more things I can do with the skill now. That's experimentation for later though.</p>
<p>I pull out my phone and send a text message to a number that was written on a business card that was inside of the box along with instructions to contact that number when I was ready for them to be picked up.</p>
<p>I get a text back almost immediately.</p>
<p><span class="u"><em>???</em></span>: <em>Thanks Axton~ 3 I'll send someone to pick them up. I'm super busy right now so I can't come myself :(</em><br/><span class="u"><em>???</em></span>: <em>By the way, your gift works great ;)</em></p>
<p>Huh, I guess it's Serafall's number. Neat. I packaged up 50 of the potions I made as best I can in the box that Serafall gave me the ingredients in, making sure they're secure. The vials are made of some pretty tough stuff though, so I'm not too worried.</p>
<p>Just a few moments after I finish that up, [Void Detect] picks up someone unfamiliar landing in front of my door, just like Serafall did last night. I close the box as they knock, and carry it to the front door.</p>
<p>I open the door to find a young man I don't recognize, though my senses make it clear he's fairly powerful, more powerful than any Devil I've come across other than Serafall. He doesn't come close to matching her.</p>
<p>"You're Serafall's guy?" I ask.</p>
<p>"That's me," he responds cheerfully. "You the potions guy?"</p>
<p>"Got 'em right here," I say, shaking the box slightly so the vials clink together. "Here. They should be pretty secure, but handle them carefully anyway."</p>
<p>"Thankfully, magic makes transportation safe," the guy says, and with the flash of a magic circle, the box disappears. He smiles at me. "As of a few minutes ago, the first potion drinker is still in the process of testing it out, so to say, but we should know within a day or two if it works, and either Serafall or one of us will let you know."</p>
<p>I whistle. "Damn, it's been like 8 hours, hasn't it? That's some impressive stamina, especially for something so last minute."</p>
<p>The guy smiles. "There's a reason this Devil was chosen in particular." He looks at his wristwatch, checking the time. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get these back to the Underworld, so we can start figuring out how best to distribute them."</p>
<p>"Sure, sure," I agree, waving him off, and he teleports away with another magic circle.</p>
<p>I close my door and pull out my phone, sending a text message to the girls to have them let me know once they've woken up, had some breakfast, and are ready to do some training. I was going to do more [Poison Resistance] training, but I realized I was being dumb about how I was doing it. I just need to wait for my Poison Sheath to finish absorbing the Ultimate Poison, and then I can apply the effect to myself as many times as I need to for free by cutting myself instead of drinking expensive poisons.</p>
<p>So instead, I decided to spend the next couple of hours waiting for the girls by training [Void Cloak]. It's bound to be one of my most useful skills, and if I can get the MP cost down to something reasonable, I'll be untouchable.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As I kill the Vampire Lord with a soul empowered [Void Beam] through its head, I pull up my Game window and check on my party members. Perfect, it looks like the final boss was just enough to get them high enough.</p>
<p>The girls let me know this morning when they were ready, and as I was preparing to take them into the Zombie dungeon I realized a small issue. Because Asia was in my party the other day, her level was a lot higher than the other two girls, which meant they wouldn't share full XP. So I decided to run through the Vampire Mansion dungeon again, but with just Atsuko and Aika in my party. This time I used [Void Beam], hoping to level it up some, but I ran into a small problem.</p>
<p>Apparently, I'm too high level for this dungeon, so the game reduced how much XP I got from it. It seems like the girls still got 10% of the amount I would have gotten, but I also only got that same 10%. I felt like less loot dropped as well. The only thing of note I picked up besides alchemy ingredients were a few okay quality weapons and armor pieces.</p>
<p>Still, the main point of this was to get the girls within ten levels of each other, and as I [Void Travel] back to the first safe room, I'm able to [Observe] them and confirm it.</p>
<p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 28[42%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 1020 (10.2 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 880 (8.8 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 1040 (10.4 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 51(102)<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 52(104)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 50(100)<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 44(88)<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 45(90)<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 95(190)<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 70(140)</strong></p>
<p><strong>Aika Kiryuu<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 28[21%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 360 (3.6 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 670 (6.7 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 350 (3.5 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 36<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 35<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 36<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 67<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 67<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 37<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 37</strong></p>
<p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 38[43%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 430 (4 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1720 (52 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 420 (4 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 43<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 42<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 41<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 86<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 135<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 89<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 44</strong></p>
<p>Atsuko has benefited the most due to her Race. Not even 48 hours since she reincarnated and she's already surpassed Kiba in some stats, though she's still much lower in the ones Kiba specializes in. That's the difference between a Pawn and a Knight I guess. And being leveled up by the Game. Honestly, that's probably the bigger difference.</p>
<p>Paltry as the XP might've been, it was still enough for me to level up as well, passing a few milestones in the process.</p>
<p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 229<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Hollow Knight(29/100)[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 10,340 (207 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 42,080 (842 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 10,800 (216 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 517<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 515(540)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 720<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1052<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 928<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 353<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 445(455)</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 CON<br/>[Tough Skin] - Negates external damage that would deal less than 1% of your maximum health</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 STR<br/>[Who needs physics?] - You can lift and push things even if you don't have enough leverage for it.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Trait Added<br/>[Devouring Soul] - Your attacks passively drain the strength of an enemy's soul to fill your own.</strong>
</p>
<p>Hollow Knight still hasn't given me any skills, but the new trait is nice. I could feel it too as I experimented with empowering my skills with Soul, which tired me out. But as I killed more vampires, I felt that fatigue wash away quickly.</p>
<p>"Axton!" Atsuko says when she sees me. "I did it!" She holds up her left hand, now covered in the bulky red armor of Twice Critical.</p>
<p>"Yua told me," I said. "You've kept it manifested the entire time?"</p>
<p>She nods. "It disappeared a couple times, but it was a lot easier to pull it back up after the first time." She tilts her head. "I'm still not sure what it does though."</p>
<p>I look at it. "Oh, that actually looks familiar. I think it's one of the common types, Twice Critical. It should let you double your strength for a time."</p>
<p>She frowns. "That's kind of underwhelming actually," she pouts.</p>
<p>"I think you underestimate how good it can get once you get stronger. Ten times two isn't that much more, but double a thousand is a big deal," I counter. "Besides, I think there's something else to it. You took 8 Pawn pieces to reincarnate, and that's a lot. You might just need some more training to reach it."</p>
<p>I'm not sure how to unlock the Boosted Gear. I <em>know</em> she has it. The perk I got when I reached 100 Affection with her and the fact that it still took her 8 Pawn pieces to be reincarnated pretty much confirms it. In canon, Issei only unlocks the Boosted Gear after Asia died and when getting revenge on Raynare. I can't exactly recreate that sort of emotional turmoil though, so I'm hoping just getting her strong enough will do it.</p>
<p>"How about you girls?" I ask Asia and Aika, who are both reading their grimoires.</p>
<p>Asia nods. "I think I understand," she says. "I might be able to protect you, a little." Her gaze lowers. "I- I don't think I can do any fighting though."</p>
<p>I step over to her and pat her head. "Don't worry, you won't have to. Being there to support the rest of the team is also a crucial role." I look at Aika, who is still reading the grimoire. "How about you?" She doesn't respond. "Uhh. Aika?"</p>
<p>She looks up, blinking as she focuses on the room. "Oh! Axton, you're back," she says distractedly.</p>
<p>"Yep," I reply, amused. "You're pretty into that thing, huh?"</p>
<p>"It's just so <em>interesting</em>," she says. "And it makes so much sense."</p>
<p>"Oh? Have you made progress then?" I ask. She nods and closes the book. She raises her hand and points it to the wall, palm first. She concentrates, and I feel power well up within her and then move to become a small mass of darkness. When it reaches the size of a marble, she lets it go, and it flies at the wall, cracking it.</p>
<p>"That was bigger than the last time I tried it," she said with a grin. I check her MP. She only used 50 MP for that, not bad for her level.</p>
<p>"Good job Aika," I praise her. I turn to the other two. "Come on girls, I have some gifts to hand out. It's time you guys get some experience fighting."</p>
<p>"Gifts?" Atsuko asks.</p>
<p>"Well, sorta," I correct myself. "Armor and weaponry mostly. Atsuko! Let's start with you. First here's some armor." I drop a black leather cuirass and black leather boots on the table in front of her. "It's not a lot of armor but some protection is better than none." The game had definitely changed the drop tables though to include stuff for my party members rather than just me.</p>
<p>"Oooh," she makes a noise of excitement. "This is so cool!"</p>
<p>"As for your weapon, you can choose anything you want," I say as I drop a selection of weapons on the table. Her eyes widen as she considers the weapons in front of her.</p>
<p>"I'm the tank, right?" she asks suddenly. "I mean, you're the thief, Asia is the healer, Aika is the mage, so that would make me the fighter who acts as a tank."</p>
<p>"I don't think we have to stick to proper party balance," I say. "But if we were to, then yes, that is the role that would suit you best."</p>
<p>"A tank?" Asia asks, confused.</p>
<p>Aika sighs. "It's a video game thing, I'm sure Atsuko will explain it to you at some point."</p>
<p>"Oh yeah!" Atsuko says. "We totally should have played games last night!"</p>
<p>"We were at my place, remember?" Aika points out. "I don't have any."</p>
<p>"Oh right," she says, slumping. "Well, if I'm gonna tank, then I wanna use this guy!" She picks up the largest weapon on the table, a double-headed ax meant to be wielded with two hands. It's made of simple wood and iron, but it's solid.</p>
<p>"As a Devil and with Twice Critical, you can probably use it pretty effectively," I comment. "If you're sure, then we'll go with that for now. If you want to try something else, let me know."</p>
<p>"Got it!" she says as she takes a few practice swings with it, facing the other direction. Well, at least she's having fun.</p>
<p>"For Aika, I have some sexy robes, a cloak, and a staff," I say as I pull them out. The robes I picked up just a few minutes ago from a Greater Vampire. "These robes offer a bit of protection and will increase how fast your magic regenerates by a little bit."</p>
<p>The cloak and staff I picked up in previous dungeon runs. "This cloak will help you hide a bit better," I say as I hand her my Shadow Cloak. "It works especially well in the shadows. And this staff will boost the strength of your magic if you use it to cast your spells." I give her the Blackened Bone Staff that the Lich used, minus the time stop gem.</p>
<p>"Ooh, creepy," she says with a grin. "I love it." She starts stripping out of her clothes so she can put on the robes, uncaring of where we are or the people around her. Asia blushes and turns away, but Atsuko just watches, a grin on her face.</p>
<p>I chuckle but turn my attention to Asia. "I have a lot of weapons you could use, but if you don't want to fight, I don't have much to give you. I do have one armor option for you though." I pull out a set of Exorcist Robes. "These will provide a bit of protection, so if you're comfortable wearing them, you can."</p>
<p>She hesitates, looking unsure, but she nods. "I don't feel like I deserve to wear those, but if it's to be safe, then I will." She blushes. "Do I have to change here too?"</p>
<p>I shake my head. "No, Aika just got impatient. We'll go back to my apartment and you can change there. We're going to be training in a different dungeon anyways, one a little more suited for training."</p>
<p>She nods, and I turn to address the room. "One last thing. I have some tricks to teach you girls."</p>
<p>[Mentor] lets me teach each person a maximum of two skills, though I'm certain it's close to reaching three skills. Still, I plan on teaching them what I can.</p>
<p>Atsuko I teach [Iron Body], showing her how to strengthen her muscles so they act as armor. If she's going to act as a tank, then this is the best possible skill I can give her. I also try to give her [Void Blood], because it's my most useful skill, but a window appears when I attempt it.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Warning!<br/>Void skill not compatible with party member<br/>Skill may be incomplete, degraded, or dangerous to the party member<br/>Do you wish to continue teaching them the skill?<br/>Y/N</strong>
</p>
<p>I guess that Void Touched perk is more important than I thought. I don't want to imagine what a dangerous [Void Blood] looks like, and I'm still not sure how to remove skills I teach my party members if it's at all possible. So instead I go with a passive skill, one I don't even have to tell her about and give her [Unnatural Rhythm].</p>
<p>I thought about giving her [Photosynthesis], to boost her healing, but as a Devil, she probably won't be fighting in the sun too often. Something to make her harder to predict and harder to hit when she's not using [Iron Body] is a better choice.</p>
<p>Instead, I silently add Asia back to my party and give her [Photosynthesis]. She's more likely to be in the light, and rule number one is to always keep your healer alive because if they go down, you're fucked.</p>
<p>Picking skills for Aika is hard. I'm tempted to give her [Shadow Step] for the mobility, but right now it would just be a large drain on her relatively small mana pool. So instead, I lean into the cloak, and I teach her [Fade] since it uses SP instead of MP. It's a lot for her right now since it costs a flat amount of 100SP/s, but as she levels up and maybe once I get some better items that won't be as much of an issue.</p>
<p>As I'm showing her how to activate it, and as she fades from view just ever so slightly, I also give her a passive skill, [Pericognition]. My ability to notice and deduce things since gaining this skill has gone way up, and Aika's a smart girl wielding a type of magic that lends itself more towards a tactical mind than brute force. It will be an invaluable tool for her.</p>
<p>Once I teach them the basics I bring us back to my apartment so Asia can change, and then I bring them straight to the Zombie Dungeon. With their levels, such an easy dungeon shouldn't be an issue.</p>
<p>We arrive in the safe room, and [Void Detect] picks up two zombies in the next room.</p>
<p>"Okay girls, this dungeon is an easy one," I start explaining. "You know zombies? The dead walking again, on the hunt for brains? This place is filled with those. The ones you guys will be facing at first are slow, dumb, and barely dangerous at all."</p>
<p>"Will we turn into zombies if we get bit?" Atsuko asks.</p>
<p>"You won't," I assure her. "Not with Asia here to heal you. And with me here there's a zero percent chance of that happening. Also, I don't think they're infectious. Not the ones we'll face at first anyway, maybe some of the ones deeper in. They get a little more dangerous the deeper we go."</p>
<p>"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Atsuko shouts, and she starts for the door. I grab her by the back of her collar and stop her from going.</p>
<p>"Wait just a second Atsuko," I chide her. "Until you guys get more used to this, you can't just rush in." She pouts but stands still. "So through that door is a room a little bigger than this one. Inside are two zombies. They might not even notice you when you go in, they're dumb and not very observant. They will notice as you approach though.</p>
<p>"So this is the plan. I'm going to go in first, stealthed. Atsuko you go in next, followed by Aika, then Asia, and Yua will bring up the rear. Atsuko you attack the closest one. I suggest just rushing it and not giving it a chance to notice you. Don't hesitate, remember, they're not real, they're projections of this place. Aika you attack the farthest one. Atsuko, after you kill yours I want you to draw the other one's attention so Aika can hit it as many times as it takes, but don't kill it, let her do that. If Atsuko doesn't kill hers in time I'll prevent it from getting too close to you Aika. Asia, you stay near the door and be ready to heal, or cast your barrier if it looks like either of them are in danger. Got it?"</p>
<p>Asia and Aika nod, but Atsuko looks a little lost. "Umm…"</p>
<p>I sigh. "Follow me. Kill the closest zombie. Distract but don't kill the other one, let Aika kill it. I'll keep you safe."</p>
<p>"Okay, got it!" she says confidently. I'm not totally convinced she does, but if she messes it up, I can step in easily enough, so I'll have a bit of faith in her.</p>
<p>"Alright then. Yua, you be ready to protect one of them, but let them get the kills, okay? They need the practice, just like I let you practice on the pixies and the bees." She nods, and I ignore the confused looks on the girls' faces. "Let's go," I say, and we head for the door in formation. I don't bother activating [Fade], wanting them to be able to see me, and when we're lined up at the door, I enter.</p>
<p>The plan starts smoothly, with me sticking close to the wall as Atsuko rushes in. As she engages with the Zombie I keep a close eye on her stats. I noticed her SP slowly trickled down whenever Twice Critical was active, but now it fell rapidly as she swung. So passively doubling her stats cost a little, but as she expended energy it dropped in chunks. Still, with her doubled stats she bisected the zombie on her first swing and still had most of her SP.</p>
<p>As the first zombie fell and disappeared, Aika's bolt of darkness shot from her staff and impacted the chest of the other one. It did a lot of damage, but not quite enough to kill it in one hit. The zombie turned to shamble at Aika, but Atsuko appears and gets in front of it, drawing its attention, as Aika prepares another bolt.</p>
<p>"One more will do it Aika," I tell her, and she nods, even as she concentrates. Next to me, I see Asia clasp her hands around a cross and focus on Atsuko's back. My eyes widen as I suddenly realize something important and I place my hand in front of her. "Don't!"</p>
<p>Surprised, she stops, and Aika yells at Atsuko to move. The other girl does, and a second bolt of darkness shoots out and punches a hole through the zombie, and it falls, defeated.</p>
<p>Atsuko turns around. "What happened?"</p>
<p>"I'm an idiot is what happened," I explain. I turn to Asia. "I didn't think of it until just now, but please only use Twilight Healing on Atsuko. I'm pretty sure your shield will hurt her since she's a Devil now."</p>
<p>Asia's eyes widen. "Oh no, I didn't even think-"</p>
<p>"Neither did I," I cut her off. "And that was my job. But I remembered in time, so no harm done." I turn to Atsuko. "Sorry, no buffs for you. Healing should be fine though."</p>
<p>"Aww," she says, disappointed.</p>
<p>I roll my eyes. "Being a Devil makes up for it. But here, put this on." I throw her the Cloranthy Ring. "With that on, you should be able to keep your Sacred Gear up indefinitely."</p>
<p>She sputters. "A ring- Axton you can't- this is so sudden-"</p>
<p>I roll my eyes. "It's a magic item that boosts your stamina, not an engagement ring. Please. That'll be much nicer looking."</p>
<p>Her mouth clamps shut as she goes the most red I've ever seen her as she blushes, but she puts on the ring. Grinning, I turn to Aika. "Those darts-"</p>
<p>"Missiles," she corrects me.</p>
<p>"Those <em>missiles</em>," I start again. "Can you make them bigger and stronger? By say maybe 20%? If you can, the zombies will go down in one hit. You have time for more charging, especially with Atsuko here."</p>
<p>She thinks about it. "Maybe. The more energy I put into it, the harder it is to put more in. But this staff makes it easier. I'll try that next time."</p>
<p>"Good," I say. "Other than that, you did perfectly." I turn to Atsuko. "You did well too. The only note I have for you is to try not to block Aika's shot when you distract a zombie."</p>
<p>She nods. "Right, makes sense." She pauses. "Are you sure they're not real?"</p>
<p>"Their bodies have disappeared right?" I say, indicating the empty room. "And you didn't see any guts?"</p>
<p>"No, but," she hesitates. "It was pretty...hardcore. I could feel it through the ax as it cut through it."</p>
<p>I frown. "Do you want a different kind of weapon? Maybe something with less feedback?"</p>
<p>She shakes her head. "No, I'll get used to it I think. I just didn't think it would be like that."</p>
<p>"If you change your mind, let me know, I have other options," I tell her, and she nods. Next, I turn to Asia. "Sorry about the scare earlier. If you want to practice the shield, use it on me or Aika. I'm sure Aika will appreciate the extra protection. But mostly you should save your energy in case of an injury. That's the most important thing you can do as a healer."</p>
<p>"Okay Axton," she says, nodding slowly.</p>
<p>I look at Atsuko's SP. With the ring, her SP recovery is faster than the cost of keeping Twice Critical active. Hopefully the same will be true for the Boosted Gear.</p>
<p>"Okay guys, let's go. The next room also has two zombies, so follow the same plan."</p>
<p>The next few hours are spent like this, slowly clearing rooms. The girls got really good at it, even in rooms with five or more zombies. Atsuko did a good job drawing their attention all at once and using her heavy ax to take one or two out immediately, and then she'd keep as many alive as she safely could by kiting them around the room as Aika bombarded them with her dark missiles.</p>
<p>Once Aika started to be able to comfortably reach a level of missile that could kill a zombie in one hit, I had her focus on getting to that point faster. Often this meant we had to rest between rooms as she recovered her mana, though I help a little with some of my cheaper potions. Serafall distracted me last night from getting all the ingredients I need to produce a ton of them, but I'm able to make a few Regeneration Potions and give them to her.</p>
<p>The XP they're getting from this is..well it's pretty much nothing. Even as we started coming across Armored Hollows and normal Zombies, which offer better XP and have more health, it's still barely putting a dent in the girls' levels. But the actual combat experience they are getting is invaluable.</p>
<p>Except for Asia, who I can feel growing frustrated. Things have been going too well, and no one has gotten injured. Something I'm glad of, but it's resulted in Asia basically following us and watching. Whenever we're about to enter a room with a lot of undead she puts a protective barrier around Aika. It's a shimmering thing that contorts to her body and shines with weak and calming light and it lasts for a minute or so. But it's not really necessary, as Aika is never even in danger.</p>
<p>There's nothing to be done about it though. I'm not going to let someone get hurt just so she can heal them. Hopefully this will encourage her to study some of the other spells in her grimoire. There are offensive ones and buffs that Aika could benefit from. It's a shame that she can't use them on Atsuko though, who needs them most as the Tank. But we confirmed earlier, even going near Aika when the shield is around her makes Atsuko's skin tingle.</p>
<p>Atsuko is another issue. I can sense some sort of energy building up in her Sacred Gear as it's being used, but it's plateaued. I suspect that it's nearly ready to reveal itself, but it needs something to push it over the edge.</p>
<p>So I guess I'll have to give her one. And [Void Detect] finally spots the undead I've been waiting for that will give me a good opportunity to do so. I turn around to face them at the door to the next room. "Okay, so there's just one zombie in the next room, but he's a little different from the ones we've fought so far. So I want you girls to stay by the door, and let me show you how to handle it, okay? Just so I can give an example. I'll trust you guys to handle the rest."</p>
<p>They all nod, and I enter the room. The girls stay near the door, and I stride confidently into the center of the room. The girls look around, confusion emanating from them when they can't see the enemy. Note to self, for their next lesson, teach them to look up.</p>
<p>The Hunter crawling on the upper edges of the ceiling, a good twenty feet high, leaps down at my apparently defenseless back.</p>
<p>"""Axton!""" all three of them shout out in unison, and [Empathy] feels fear spike from them. But I hear the fourth voice I was hoping I would.</p>
<p>"<em><strong>Boost!</strong></em>"</p>
<p>Atsuko is rushing at me to help me, but I've already spun around and grabbed the Hunter by the throat, and Atsuko skids to a halt, confused.</p>
<p>"I probably should have explained more about what I was doing," I say, acting sheepish. "This is a Hunter. They like to attack you while you're distracted or unaware of them, pouncing on you from above. I didn't mean to scare you guys, I just wanted to show that the best way to deal with them is to reverse that on them and catch them as they pounce." I throw the Hunter back slightly and shove a knife through its eye, killing it instantly. "Guess I should have explained that first though."</p>
<p>"Dammit Axton, I nearly had a heart attack!" Atsuko chides me, though her shoulders slump in relief.</p>
<p>"Well, on the bright side, I think something good came of it," I point out. She looks at me confused, and I point at her now transformed Sacred Gear.</p>
<p>"What the hell, it's changed?!" she exclaims. "Is that normal?"</p>
<p>"No idea," I say. "But it means that I was right. It wasn't just a Twice Critical, that was just a disguise, or a first form or something."</p>
<p>"Well, what is it now?" she asks, looking at the similar but much sleeker design of the Boosted Gear. "Are these roman numerals? I think this is...two?"</p>
<p>"<em><strong>Boost!</strong></em>"</p>
<p>The gem shines brightly as a loud voice comes from it.</p>
<p>"Is that your Sacred Gear saying that?" Aika asks as she comes up to us.</p>
<p>"I think so?' she asks. "Now the two is a three."</p>
<p>"Holy shit," I say, acting surprised. "I think I've read about this one too."</p>
<p>"Another common one?" Atsuko asks with a sigh.</p>
<p>"The opposite actually," I deny. "How does your ax feel? Lighter?" I notice her SP dropping. Not too fast, but it's considerable, and her stats have increased.</p>
<p>
  <b>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></b>
  <b>Level: 28[60%]<br/></b>
  <b>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></b>
  <b>HP: 1020 (10.2 per second)<br/></b>
  <b>MP: 880 (8.8 per minute)<br/></b>
  <b>SP: 1040 (10.4 per second)<br/></b>
  <b>CON: 51(204)<br/></b>
  <b>STR: 52(208)<br/></b>
  <b>DEX: 50(200)<br/></b>
  <b>INT: 44(176)<br/></b>
  <b>WIS: 45(180)<br/></b>
  <b>CHA: 95(380)<br/></b>
  <b>LUK: 70(280)</b>
</p>
<p>I note with interest that those aren't her stats doubled three times, but instead, her stats are four times as high. So instead of doubling each time, it's a linear growth? That certainly makes more sense. Exponential growth would be insane, even if capped by the user's body. Though this is too, considering the large SP drain at even just three boosts.</p>
<p>"Oh wow yeah, it's way lighter now," she comments.</p>
<p>"You may want to deactivate it though," I comment as I watch her SP drop to about half. "You're a lot stronger now, but I can tell you won't be able to keep it up for long."</p>
<p>"Oh, okay," she says, and the gear disappears with a small flash of light. "Guh," she exclaims as the ax she was casually holding in the air suddenly becomes a lot heavier for her, though still well within her ability to lift it.</p>
<p>"I think we should call it there for a day," I say. "We need to go talk to Rias."</p>
<p>"Rias?" Atsuko repeats. "Why?"</p>
<p>I use [Dungeon Traversal] and take us out of the Dungeon and back to my apartment. "I'll let her do the explaining, she can probably do it better, but that Sacred Gear is kind of a big deal, and she'll want to know as soon as possible."</p>
<p>"Should we wait here?" Aika asks.</p>
<p>"Nah, we'll go as a group," I respond. "I told Rias on Friday that we'd be bringing you into things. And this way I don't have to explain it to you guys later."</p>
<p>I check with [Void Sight] to make sure she's where I think she is, and she is, and then I check to make sure no normal humans are within eyesight.</p>
<p>Now, I haven't tried it with this many people, but it should be fine. I pull the three of them close to me and use [Void Travel] to move us to a couple hundred feet from the Occult Research Club room.</p>
<p>"Wow," Aika comments. "That was...weird. It didn't feel like we moved at all."</p>
<p>"My teleportation is the best," I say with a little pride. "Come on, let's go talk to Rias." I stride to the clubroom, the girls following close behind, and I open the door without hesitating. Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba are all there, sitting around the center of the room, eating lunch.</p>
<p>"Axton?" Rias says in surprise. "What is it? Why are you dressed up in combat gear? No wait, is that Atsuko and Kiryuu? When did they get so strong?" Shock radiates from the others as they realize that the magic power of the two girls has grown massively.</p>
<p>"To sorta answer all of your questions, after telling Aika everything, she wanted to learn magic. So I've spent this morning training all of them, Asia included. And we've discovered what Atsuko's Sacred Gear is, and when I recognized it, I decided to bring her straight here."</p>
<p>"What is it?" Rias asks, looking a little lost in all information I just dumped on her.</p>
<p>Before I respond though, I feel a pulse of magical energy as the magic circle in the corner of the room lights up. But something about it looks different.</p>
<p>"Phenex?!" Akeno exclaims, and I realize what's happening.</p>
<p>With a flash and the scent of ash, a young blonde man appears in the circle. He's wearing an unbuttoned red suit with a half-open white shirt, showing off a lot of his chest. His hair is slicked backward, and the only way I can describe his face is arrogant.</p>
<p>"There you are Rias," he says as his eyes latch on to her. "You haven't replied to any of my messages, so I got worried, and came to find you." Rias's eyes narrow, not believing his excuse, but he ignores it, uncaring. His eyes flicker to me, and then to the other occupants of the room. "But you seem to be doing fine."</p>
<p>"I have been busy, that's all," Rias says while crossing her arms.</p>
<p>"Busy for four whole days, huh?" Riser says, grinning smugly. "I had no idea it could be so hectic up here. Are you sure it's healthy for you to be working so hard? Maybe you should take a rest for a few days. You're welcome to come to relax at my family's manor."</p>
<p>Annoyance and disgust roll off of Rias, and she does a poor job of keeping it from showing on her face. "I don't see how that's any of your business."</p>
<p>"Come on, don't be like that," he says, seemingly good-naturedly. "That's no way to talk to your fiancé after all."</p>
<p>"Her <em>WHAT</em>?!" Atsuko exclaims from behind me, and I just sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.</p>
<p>I guess this is happening now. Joy.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, after being asked if I had a Patreon by a reader, I dusted off one I made early last year and finished getting it set up. If for some reason you wish to support me monetarily, you can do so there. I'd super appreciate it.</p>
<p>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p>
<p>Axton's Character Sheets: tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p>
<p>AN: And that wraps up the Recruitment Week arc! Which is why this chapter is so long. In hindsight, I could have split it in two, but when planning it out, I felt like the pacing was awkward for two chapters. Oh well, I got it done pretty quickly anyway. The next arc is the as of yet unnamed Riser arc. My plan for it isn't the most original, but I think it'll be fun and satisfying.</p>
<p>That being said, the Riser arc will update a little slower than normal. Remember what Axton said at the beginning, about his knowledge of DxD being kinda shaky past the beginning bits? Well, that's true for me as well. I know enough to get through the Kokabiel stuff(even with the changes I've made), but I don't really know anything after that. So while I'm writing the Riser arc, I'll be reading the LN's, so that when I finish that arc, I can come up with a complete rough outline for the whole story. Or at least, a better one than I have now. Because I really would like to finish this fic, even if it takes me over a million words.</p>
<p>Axton, Asia, Aika, and Atsuko. Throw in the occasional Akeno and boy is that a lot of 'A' names. Lemme know if I got any swapped at some point, it's bound to happen.</p>
<p>I struggled with the scene where they explain everything to Aika. I rewrote huge chunks of it several times. I think the final result is okay, but lacking in some areas. I didn't want to spend more time only marginally improving it though so I decided to leave it as is.</p>
<p>Please don't tell me who I should or shouldn't give the Phoenix Devil Fruit to. Someone suggested giving that specific fruit to a future harem member and I liked the idea and said if I rolled the Devil Fruit on the gacha I'd give it to her. So of course, the very next time I rolled the gacha, he landed on it. Axton's loot luck is actually a statistical anomaly I swear. So it's being reserved for her, and will not be going to Asia, Atsuko, or anyone else in his harem right now.</p>
<p>I'm aware that I'm copying TheDarkWolfShiro quite a bit with the whole Serafall thing. But it just makes too much sense. I can't imagine a better way to handle things. It's a fun characterization that will lead to great lewds, and it's so easy it'd be dumb to do it differently. And hopefully, I'll actually progress enough where it happens. I'm hoping the way I've set things up and how I've handled the rest of it is enough to differentiate my fic from Shiro's.</p>
<p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord. gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. DxD: Getting Into Shape 01</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch notes:<br/>-Finally stopped being lazy and figured out hard rules for how Devils and Fallen level up instead of the slapdash thing I had before. This has resulted in some minor changes, mostly in terms of MP/HP/SP maximum and regen rates. Since it's not super important, I haven't gone back to change them, but I'll show their new stats screens early on.<br/>-The level scaling for people who aren't Axton has changed. Honestly, for you guys, this doesn't change much, it's mostly stuff I've had to fix in the background. The quick and lazy way I designed it before just wasn't going to cut it for leveling past 100. But if you're the kind of person who pays close attention to those sorts of things, you might notice it.<br/>-Shared XP now is based on percentages rather than flat levels. For party members to receive full XP, they need to be within 10% of their level(for a level 200, that means they need to be 180-120 to get full XP). For 50% XP, they need to be within 50%. Differences larger than that only share 10%.<br/>-Kiba and Koneko's stats changed a little bit to more accurately reflect their values relative to each other. Kiba somehow had a higher STR than Koneko. I blame dumb past me for not paying attention.<br/>-Added a cost to [Doppelganger] because apparently, I forgot that. Oops. It's always cost 500MP, but such a low cost doesn't even matter for how infrequently he uses it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm not marrying you, Riser," Rias immediately denies, ignoring Atsuko's outburst. "I don't care what my parents say. Besides, they promised me that I would be free to do as I wish while I received an education here in Japan and looked for Peerage members."</p><p>"And us being married wouldn't change that," Riser replies easily. "You would still be able to do as you wish up here. But our parents are worried, and so am I, about the state of your household."</p><p>Rias glares at Riser. "And what, exactly, is <em>that</em> supposed to mean?"</p><p>"It means that the Gremory house only has one heiress, and that has left your parents anxious about the future of their house," he answers with faux-sympathy. "What if something were to happen to you?"</p><p>"Then Millicas would become the heir," Rias snaps. "You know that as well as I do."</p><p>"True," Riser accedes. "But no one <em>really</em> wants that. It's unavoidable for the current Lucifer to have ties to one of the major families, but for Lucifer's own son to be head of that house? No matter how it comes about, it stinks of potential favoritism, and it's cleaner if you inherit. And for that to be secure, you yourself need a child, so they can inherit after you." Riser pauses to smirk. "And making a child is so much work for us. It's better if we get started as early as possible, and try and try as many times as it takes."</p><p>A collective shiver runs through the room as everyone understands the meaning of his words. Even Atsuko picks up on his true intentions and I feel her tense up and her anger rise, but I put a hand on her shoulder and hold her back.</p><p>She looks at me surprised, but I shake my head lightly and use [Sound Domain] to whisper to her. "Let Rias handle this for now. I have an idea, and I'll step in if she needs it."</p><p>Atsuko looks hard at me for a moment, but relaxes, nodding slightly. She's still angry, but she's willing to trust me and let me handle that. Good. Because I do have an idea. Not a very original idea, but I thought I would have more time before this happened, and so I have to improvise.</p><p>There are a lot of ways to handle Riser, from things as extreme as assassinating him, or as simple as using my new political weight to try to get Serafall to back me up. But considering my goals, there is only one way to handle this.</p><p>I can't let him marry her. For one, Atsuko is in her peerage now, and no way am I giving her to anyone else. For two, I intend to claim most of the rest of Rias's peerage, herself included, and I can't do that if Riser gets his hands on them. So while I don't really have anything against Riser himself, other than him being a douche, I can't let this happen.</p><p>But there's another goal I have that restricts my options somewhat. Ravel Phenex, the younger sister of Riser Phenex. I want her. And not just because she's cute. Mostly because of that, but I have justifications other than that. She's shown herself to be intelligent and level headed, and I need her for an idea I have.</p><p>So whatever option I take needs me either in a position of power over the Phenex family, enough that I can claim her, or on good enough terms that it leaves me options for obtaining her down the road. I'd prefer the latter because it's less of a headache and makes me fewer enemies, but I'm willing to piss off the Phenex clan as a whole just to get her.</p><p>All that makes my choice very clear. I just need to pick the path that gains me the most Affection with Rias, gives me Ravel, and pisses off the fewest people.</p><p>The conversation between Riser and Rias has continued as I plotted and things are getting tense. Which is why I'm glad when the teleportation circle lights up again as someone else appears in the room. A woman with silver hair and red eyes dressed in a maid uniform. The Strongest Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge.</p><p>Good, I was starting to get worried that she wouldn't be included in this conversation, and that would make things more difficult.</p><p>"Grayfia?" Rias asks in confusion. "What are you doing here?"</p><p>"If the two of you are having a conflict over the terms of your marriage agreement, we thought it best if there was a third party there to help officiate any discussions and negotiations," Grayfia answers, her tone formal and neutral.</p><p>Rias sighs. "Brother…" she says softly.</p><p>"And this is why no one wants Millicas as Gremory Heir," Riser mutters, but not quietly enough. A sudden pressure fills the room, pushing down on everyone like a suffocating force. Atsuko, Aika, and Asia shiver next to me, and I struggle to extend my own presence to protect them. But the presence disappears quickly.</p><p>"As a <em>neutral</em> third party," Grayfia continues, shooting a glare at a shaken and much less confident Riser, "I have come to fill that role."</p><p>It seems the title of the Strongest Queen isn't for show. I can sense that she's strong, even if her actions just now hadn't made that obvious, but I use [Observe] on her anyway to see her numbers.</p><p><strong>Grayfia Lucifuge<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 3,710<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 149,340<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 367,800<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 173,100<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 2,489<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 2,885<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 5,648<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 6,130<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 5,685<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 2,879<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 325</strong></p><p>Almost as strong as Serafall. Wow. That's kind of terrifying. Also annoying. I'm level 229, but I haven't seen anyone at a similar level to compare myself against. Everyone I've seen is either below level 150 or above level 3,000. There's no middle ground here it seems. Maybe Riser?</p><p><strong>Riser Phenex<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 145<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 9,200<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 6,690<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4,380<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 230<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 146<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 152<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 223<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 198<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 71<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 69</strong></p><p>A bit stronger, and higher than even Sona or Rias, but still lacking compared to me. Well, being comfortably stronger than any threats I'm likely to face is exactly where I want to be in terms of strength.</p><p>Riser seems to have collected himself, and his expression is once again confident, though [Empathy] reveals he's a little more on edge. But not as much as he should be. He really is an idiot, isn't he? Good. That'll make him easy to manipulate.</p><p>"I don't see why you are needed in that capacity," Riser says haughtily. "Our marriage has been agreed upon by our families for years. Just because she doesn't want it doesn't mean it's not going to happen."</p><p>Atsuko tenses again, her anger rising, and this time I don't hold her back, and in fact, I remove my hand from her shoulder.</p><p>"How dare you talk about Rias like that!" Atsuko shouts at Riser. "She's not some slab of meat to be haggled over! If she doesn't want to marry you, then that's final!"</p><p>Riser glares at Atsuko before sneering and dismissing her, turning his attention back to Rias. "I advise you to keep your underlings in check, it seems as if they haven't learned their manners yet." He casts a disgusted look at the four of us, still awkwardly standing to the side. "Though if she's keeping company with a bunch of humans, it's no surprise that she hasn't acclimatized to her new life yet."</p><p>"Yoooouuu-" Atsuko starts, but I pull her back again, and once again whisper in her ear with [Sound Domain].</p><p>"That's enough," I advise her. "Don't worry, we won't let him get away with it. Rias has a plan."</p><p>Atsuko struggles to clamp down on her anger, but at my words she does so, closing her mouth with a snap and crossing her arms.</p><p>Riser and I briefly make eye contact. "Well, at least one of them knows how to recognize their betters."</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions Perk Activated<br/>+5 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>"More like I can recognize when anger and words would be wasted," I deny. "After all, for words to have any effect, the listener needs to be smart enough to understand them. I'm just saving her from a fruitless endeavor."</p><p>
  <strong>-12 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>This time I feel Riser's anger spike as he glares at me, which I respond to with a smirk. "And who, exactly, are you?" he asks, restrained anger clear in his voice.</p><p>"Oh no one important," I reply casually. "Just a local magician and friend of Rias. Please, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation. Pretend like I'm not here."</p><p>I can see Riser grit his teeth as his desire to turn his attention back to the more important Rias and his unwillingness to follow my suggestions conflict, but finally, he dismisses me and turns to Rias.</p><p>"No matter the outbursts of the lowly, our marriage has been agreed upon already," he continues. "Your insistence on fighting it is childish and disrespectful not only to your family but to our society and culture."</p><p>"I don't want to hear about being disrespectful from <em>you</em>," Rias shoots back at him. The conversation starts to quickly devolve into bickering. I make eye contact with Grayfia, and we acknowledge each other for the first time.</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions Perk Activated<br/>+25 Affection with Grayfia Lucifuge</strong>
</p><p>She narrows her eyes in suspicion at me but I just roll my own and motion with my hand for her to carry on. She narrows her eyes further, but turns her attention to the two bickering and clears her throat.</p><p>That small action is enough to immediately silence both of them and draw their attention to the maid as she begins to speak. "The Gremory and Phenex clans, alongside Sirzechs, are well aware of Rias's unwillingness to go ahead with the marriage, and therefore have collectively come up with a last resort solution. A Rating Game between the two of you."</p><p>Rias feels relieved, surprised, and a little annoyed at her announcement. Riser narrows his eyes, annoyance and suspicion coming off of him. "Oh? My father agreed to this then?"</p><p>"He did not believe you would mind this method, considering your relatively far greater experience with Rating Games," she answers flatly.</p><p>He leans back, annoyance gone and back to feeling confident. "That is true. If that's what it takes to end this stubborn resistance, then that is fine by me."</p><p>"I'm also fine with this," Rias replies, sounding just as confident. "I'll gladly defeat Riser in a rating game to break this engagement."</p><p>There's a flash of annoyance and anger from Riser, but it quickly gives away to amusement. "Oh? Are you sure about that?" he asks. "After all, your peerage is...underwhelming." He looks around the room at Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and finally Atsuko. "Your Queen is formidable, but with so few other members, and with one of them being newly turned, can you really face a full peerage?"</p><p>With a snap of his fingers, the teleportation circle lights up again, and behind him appear 15 figures. I quickly check all of them with [Observe]. Besides his Queen, Yubelluna, and his sister, Ravel, most of them are between level 79 and 90, except for one smaller girl who is only level 56. On average, they're a higher level than I thought, with an average level higher than Rias's peerage with three times her members.</p><p>But I let out a snort anyway, laughing. The room goes silent as Riser turns to me, too shocked to even be angry. I 'accidentally' laugh again, and act as if I'm trying to contain it. Even Atsuko and Aika are staring at me weirdly.</p><p>"And what's so funny, <em>nobody</em>?" Riser snarls. Ahh, there's the rage.</p><p>I wave him off. "No no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. Please, go back to pretending I'm not here. It's just…" I trail off and shake my head. "No, nevermind."</p><p>"No, I <em>insist</em>," Riser says with gritted teeth. "Please, it's just <em>what</em>?"</p><p>Rias is staring at me, confusion and shock on her face, and Grayfia is staring at me blankly, but I feel the tiniest hint of curiosity coming from her. I wonder what information she has on me. Serafall had a bit, and I'm sure Sirzechs collected some on me as well, he's just as much of a siscon.</p><p>"It's just...I've heard you've had a good track record in the Rating Games," I said. "See I've been educating myself on the relevant people in the current scene of Devil Politics, especially those attached to my friends. And your track record is impressive."</p><p>"And this results in you laughing how?" Riser asks, patience quickly running out.</p><p>"Well...when you boasted about your peerage, and I got a chance to see them for myself...well it's just funny isn't it?" I chuckle again, stoking the fire of his anger. "Did your opponents let you win? Or is a peerage of such a low level of strength normal?"</p><p>
  <strong>-16 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>Again the room goes silent at my blatant disrespect. I can't tell who's more shocked, Riser and his Peerage who I just insulted, or the people who knew me and had never seen me be anything other than easy-going and non-confrontational.</p><p>"Come again?" Riser asks in a quiet voice as the smell of ash and fire slowly fills the room.</p><p>I run my eyes back over his peerage. "Yourself, the woman who I assume is your Queen, and your sister," I state, my tone a bit less laid back and more serious now. "They're the only ones in your entire peerage that stand out as even approaching strong enough to match your deeds. And even then, just barely. The rest of your peerage is...lacking." I shake my head in pity. "It's obvious that you've spent more time indulging in your peerage than training them."</p><p>I turn my gaze to him directly, staring at his rage-filled eyes without flinching. "So which is it? Did you bribe them to let you win? Or is the difference in strength between someone who has won so many Rating Games and someone who can't even participate in normal Rating Games so small that I could train the latter to close the gap in just a week?"</p><p>
  <strong>-12 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>"You dare accuse me of cheating? And call me weak?" Riser says. The smell of fire grows stronger, and Asia clings to me as the room grows hotter.</p><p>But I just maintain eye contact and smirk. "I'm just curious, and asking a genuine ques-"</p><p>I'm cut off by a gout of flame headed straight to my face, but I don't move. Sure enough, before it reaches me, the temperature of the room drops instantly and the fire disappears as that heavy presence fills the room again.</p><p>"No matter what words are spoken, I will not let this meeting descend into violence," Grayfia declares. She once again pulls back, lifting the weight from the room.</p><p>"You would let this human insult me like this without reproach?" Riser asks Grayfia, spitting in rage.</p><p>"His inclusion in this conversation and his input into it are beyond the scope of my responsibility here," Grayfia answers coolly. She looks at me with searching eyes though, briefly turning her eyes to Atsuko and Aika behind me, gauging them and their new level of strength. She turns her gaze back to me, and there's a question in her eyes, and I smile. I love working with intelligent people.</p><p>I nod in confirmation, and she turns her attention back to Riser. "However, he does bring up a valid point. Considering Rias's lack of experience and the fact that her Pawn is only recently reincarnated, a period of time for her to prepare is reasonable."</p><p>"Fine," Riser spits out, annoyed. "I wouldn't want to be accused of being <em>unfair</em>." He looks at me, hatred in his eyes. "A week you said? I'll give you your week." He turns to Rias. "Next Monday night we'll have our Rating Game and put an end to this farce. Train hard Rias. You'll <em>need</em> it."</p><p>With that, he storms to the teleportation circle to join his peerage and they disappear with a flash of light.</p><p>Grayfia turns to me. "If you trained those girls that fast, then I will trust you to help Rias here."</p><p>"Atsuko is also part of her Peerage," I reassure her. "And that guy pisses me off, treating Rias like that. I'll get them ready."</p><p>Grayfia nods, and I swear I can see a small smile on her lips for just a moment. But then she turns to Rias. "I must go make preparations, but please let me know if you need further assistance." She bows slightly before vanishing in a flash of light as well.</p><p>The room is quiet for a few moments as everyone recovers from what just happened.</p><p>"Axton?" Rias asks. "What was that?"</p><p>"That was so badass!" Atsuko interrupts, excited. "I really wanted to chew out that jackass, but Axton just swooped in with a sucker-punch!"</p><p>I pat the literally bouncing Atsuko on the head while I turn my attention to Rias. "That was me buying you more time," I say, ignoring that without my actions she would have gotten 10 days of training instead of just a week. She doesn't know that, and a week is more than enough for me to train her to the point where she can kick Riser's ass. I underplayed the strength of his peerage a little, but honestly not by much.</p><p>"I wasn't lying when I said I've been looking into Devil politics recently," I lie. "I knew about your engagement, and it's certainly no secret how against it you are. I've been looking into ways to help you without joining your peerage, but, like you, I thought I had more time to work with."</p><p>Rias is shocked. "You were doing that, for me? No wait, you let Atsuko join my peerage knowing that?"</p><p>"Of course. You're a friend after all," I say.</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p><p>Knew that line would work on her. "I have personal reasons for not joining myself," I continue, "But I was reasonably confident I could help you get out of this engagement. Confident enough that I was okay with Atsuko joining you. Even if it came down to this."</p><p>"I know I agreed to the Rating Game, but are you sure it'll turn out fine?" Rias asks, nervous.</p><p>I wrap my arms around Aika and Atsuko's shoulders. "I got these girls to this level of strength in a casual morning of training. Give me a week dedicated to it? I'll make your entire peerage more than strong enough to kick his ass."</p><p>
  <strong>New Quest added!<br/>Fall of the Phoenix<br/>Objective: Train Rias and her Peerage and have her win her Rating Game<br/>Bonus Objective: Get her entire peerage above Level 100<br/>Bonus Objective: Ger her entire peerage above Level 150<br/>Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer<br/>Bonus Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer, 1 Phenex Tear<br/>Bonus Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer, +10 Affection with Grayfia Lucifuge, 2 Phenex Tears, [Devil Magic]</strong>
</p><p>Good. It's been too long since the last quest that wasn't Kyu egging me on to seduce girls. That's what I get for keeping my head down I guess. "Besides, I never got a chance to tell you what Atsuko's Sacred Gear is," I continue. I nudge Atsuko. "Go on, show her your Sacred Gear."</p><p>Atsuko nods and raises her left hand. With a declaration of "<em>BOOST</em>!" that fills the air, the red gauntlet of the Boosted Gear appears on her hand.</p><p>I can feel the shock coming from Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko as their eyes widen. "That's-!" Akeno starts in shock.</p><p>"Ladies and gentlemen," I say. "I present to you Atsuko Hyoudou, newest wielder of the Longinus class Sacred Gear, the Boosted Gear. Meet the new Red Dragon Empress."</p><p>For the third time the room goes silent at my words as everyone looks at me, and this time also at Atsuko, in shock. Even Asia is shocked, understanding at least a little, though Aika just looks lost.</p><p>Not as much as Atsuko is though, who tilts her head and looks at me. "Huh?"</p><p>"Your Sacred Gear is a super powerful one that is really well known that pops up once every now and then and you having it is a really big deal," I explain in simple terms. "It's classified as a Longinus because it's one of the Sacred Gears that is recognized as something that is capable of killing a god."</p><p>Her eyes widen. "Really?" She stares at the gauntlet in awe.</p><p>I turn back to Rias. "So yeah. With my help and the Red Dragon Empress in your Peerage, I'm confident you'll be able to take on Riser even with just the five of you."</p><p>"Six," I hear from behind me, and I turn to Aika, who has a determined look on her face. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I decided this morning that I wanted to ask you to join your Peerage as well. I want to fight alongside Atsuko."</p><p>I turn to Rias. "You still have a Bishop piece right? She's picked up the magic I've taught her extremely fast."</p><p>Rias is looking extremely overwhelmed. "I- you- she-" Rias stammers, before sighing and rubbing her temples. "Can you just give me a second?"</p><p>"Sure sure," I say easily, a little amused.</p><p>"So Atsuko has the Boosted Gear," Rias says out loud. "That makes sense. She took 8 Pawns to reincarnate despite her low magic and how hard it was to sense her Sacred Gear. I was expecting something big. Not that big, but big."</p><p>She turns to me. "And you trained her for a single morning and now she is...what? Almost as strong as Kiba?"</p><p>"Only when boosted twice," I say. "But she's growing quickly, yes."</p><p>"And Kiryuu, you've started to learn magic, have also grown explosively in a short span, and want to become a Devil so you can stay close to Atsuko?" Rias asks Aika.</p><p>"Yes," she replies with a serious nod.</p><p>Rias turns to me. "And whatever method you used to train them so quickly you want to use on the rest of us?"</p><p>"That is everything summed up, yes," I answer.</p><p>She takes a deep breath and her eyes unfocus as she thinks about everything. "Okay. Yes. Let's do it." She looks me in the eyes. "I'm going to trust you on this Axton."</p><p>"I won't let you down," I promise. "I'll even go beyond that, and I'll surprise you for sure."</p><p>"I really hope that will be the case," she says with a sigh. "Come on, let's start getting ready. We have a lot of preparation to do."</p><hr/><p>I stick around for Aika's reincarnation as a Devil, but it's just as anti-climatic as Atsuko's, just a chess piece and a bump to her HP, MP, and SP. After that, we all split up, getting ready. Atsuko and Aika have to explain to their parents that they were going on a trip for a club activity, Rias has to make preparations for a place for us to train, and I have some shopping to do.</p><p>So I do what I should have done early on. I contact Sona and ask her if she knows where I can buy common goods in bulk without being asked questions. And of course, she's able to direct me to a supplier that does business with her family that knows about Devils, is loyal to her, and won't ask questions. And also accept payment in a suspiciously large amount of cash. I should really look into setting up a bank account or something.</p><p>Not that secrecy is terribly important for what I need. I just don't want to explain why I need these strange things in bulk. Or questions about how I was going to transport them. Still, buying things by the pallet is surprisingly satisfying. And within an hour, I have enough alchemy ingredients to last me ages.</p><p>I also buy 2,500 yards of wool to grind my [Tailoring] skill, and a Magic Needle from the Hunie Store that turns MP into thread, just so I didn't have to worry about managing that. I also buy 400 more vials, because they're cheap and I need more.</p><p>All of these purchases puts a pretty big dent into my savings, but that's fine with me. What is the point of money if you don't spend it to better yourself? Besides, with all these potion ingredients, I can make that money back a few thousand times over.</p><p>Ingredients purchased, I make sure I have Yua and Kyu with me before I [Void Travel] back to the club room, to meet with the others, and we all teleport to the training area.</p><p>As expected, it's the same mountain retreat area that they trained at in the anime. But unlike then, we teleport directly to the building instead of having to hike up there. I guess Rias doesn't feel the need for it.</p><p>The sun is setting by the time we arrive though, and before we head into the place, I gather everyone around.</p><p>"Alright guys, here's how this next week is going to go," I say. "Truth is, I haven't been fully upfront about what I can do. It's not that I don't trust you guys, but I try to keep my cards pretty close to my chest. But the time for that is past. I'll explain everything tomorrow though. For tonight, we're just going to rest. Because tomorrow I'm going to put you all through hell, got it?"</p><p>Everyone nods and agrees, serious expressions on their faces. "Good," I respond. "But for tonight, relax! I'm going to be making the food while we're here, so don't worry about that."</p><p>The rest of the evening passes quickly. I cook up a feast of food and the evening is spent filling Aika and Atsuko in on some of the basics of being a Devil and Devil culture. Aika shows off some of her magic, and it's undoubtedly stronger now. Already she's starting to grasp the basics of Devil magic and is using it to enhance her Dark magic.</p><p>But soon we all separate into our own rooms. But there are two things I need to take care of before everyone is asleep.</p><p>First, I cast [Erotic Dreams] on everyone except Kiba. I can cast the skill on as many people equal to the skill level, which means I can put it on 15 people right now. I do this mostly so I can level up the skill. But also because while everything I said to Rias is true, my other main objective of this training camp is to get closer to Rias and her Peerage. An entire week of focusing on them? Way too good of a chance to pass up.</p><p>Though I go ahead and use a Large Heart Crystal on Kiba to get him above 50 Affection. Might as well earn as many points with him as I can.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk Reward for 50 Affection with Yuuto Kiba<br/>[Way of the Blade] - Increases Affection gain with those who use swords by 20%</strong>
</p><p>The second thing I need to do tonight is to have a quick conversation with Asia. Sensing that she's still awake, I knock on her door, opening it when I hear her invite me in. She's sitting on her bed, already in her nightgown, reading her grimoire.</p><p>"Axton!" she greets me with a smile. "Is there something you needed?"</p><p>"Just wanted a quick talk," I say. "I know I kind of dragged you along with this, and just wanted to make sure you were okay with it. You don't have to train with the others if you don't want to."</p><p>She shakes her head. "No, I want to train as well. Even more than before. I need to get better. I need to be useful."</p><p>I sigh. "No Asia, you don't <em>have</em> to be useful. You can be useless as you want. I care for you, and I won't let you go, no matter what."</p><p>She blushes but pushes past her embarrassment. "Well, I <em>want</em> to be useful. I want to be better."</p><p>I walk up to her and pull her into a hug, which she returns. "Okay," I say. "If that's what you want, I'll include you in the training. It'll be hard, but you're tough, so I know you can take it." I pull away. "Now, don't stay up too late, we'll be getting an early start in the morning."</p><p>She nods but opens her grimoire to start reading again, studying it. I leave her room and head for my own. There won't be any sleep for me tonight, or probably at all during this week. Which is fine. I can use the time for grinding my crafting skills and farming the dungeons.</p><p>I shut the door behind me. The bedrooms we have are all simple, having only a bed, a night table, a small dresser with a mirror, and a desk with a chair in front of it. Yua and Kyu are already curled up on my bed, sleeping, and I sigh and sit down at the desk. It's going to be a long night.</p><hr/><p>The first thing I do is blitz the last Tier 1 dungeon, the Pharaoh's Tomb. It's a neat dungeon, focusing more on traps and secret stashes of treasure than enemies. I take the time to disable all of the traps. My [Trapping] skill doesn't get many chances to be leveled, so I disable them rather than just avoid them.</p><p>The enemies are roughly what'd you expect. Sphinxes, mummies, snakes, and scorpions. Nothing I can't handle at my level, even challenging myself by only using [Void Drain]. Though my level is an issue since the whole trip barely gets me any XP at all because of the penalty. Still, I get plenty of loot, so it worked out.</p><p>Aside from the normal range of crafting materials and potions, I also find a few different kinds of Heart Crystals, another INT Crystal that gets used immediately, a lot of money, a scroll that summons a swarm of bugs, another wand for Yua, and the pelts of various kinds of magical and mundane creatures, such as bears, sphinxes, unicorns, and even the hide of a Dragon.</p><p>That isn't even the best of it. I also find 5 Adamantium Ingots, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with them. Pick up the [Blacksmithing] skill sometime soon maybe, or use them with [Alchemy]. They're valuable though, so I'll have to think carefully before I use them.</p><p>I also get a skill and some neat items.</p><p>
  <strong>[Bastet's Cure] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Cure a target of the poison or venom afflicting them. Effectiveness increases with skill level.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Snake Charming Flute<br/>When played, snakes within range will obey you.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Monocle of Appraisal<br/>Instinctually learn the value of an item viewed through this item</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pendant of Curse Resistance<br/>Increases resistance against curses</strong>
</p><p>The boss fight is especially lucrative. The fight itself is boring. The Pharaoh himself rose from his tomb, but he was a rather lackluster magic caster, and [Void Drain] took care of him without issue. But his hoard was another matter.</p><p>4 Gacha Tokens, 100 Gold Ingots, and 25 golfball-sized gems of various kinds. I don't consider myself to be very greedy, but seeing that much wealth is a rush.</p><p>But more importantly than all that, the boss also dropped the thing I came here for in the first place. The Crafting Skill Gem. I crush it immediately and choose the skill I need.</p><p><strong>[Enchanting] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Use catalysts to imbue items with magical abilities. Maximum of 1 enchantment per item. Can be used to destroy an item to learn its enchantment.</strong></p><p>Making light armor and robes with [Tailoring] is good and all, but this is what I really need in order to make things that can protect my girls. Though the skill description is annoying. Not only do I need to learn enchantments by destroying enchanted items, but apparently I need something called catalysts to use the skill. Which, if I had to guess, I could get as dungeon loot only now that I've unlocked the skill. Which is weird, considering I could get all sorts of other crafting materials before I had a skill to use them with, but whatever.</p><p>Time to go farm for some of those. But first. Let's go ahead and use those gacha tokens. No point letting them sit there.</p><p>
  <strong>Ender Chest<br/>A chest that shares its inventory with all other Ender Chests.</strong>
</p><p>...wait, just the one? How is that any more useful than a normal chest? Ugh. I guess I have to roll it again.</p><p>
  <strong>Ring of Visibility<br/>Allows the wearer to see things normally invisible, such as ghosts and those who are under magical effects.</strong>
</p><p>Sounds like good enchanting material to me. I set it aside for now though.</p><p>
  <strong>Expert Belt<br/>Increases the effectiveness of skills and attacks that exploit an enemies weakness</strong>
</p><p>Another item to consume for its enchantment. Which I appreciate, but so far these pulls have been kind of disappointing. One last one.</p><p>
  <strong>Hive Crystal<br/>A shard of concentrated power of the Deep, created by the Hive.</strong>
</p><p>First a piece of the Light, and now a piece of the Dark, huh? When I got the Shard of the Traveler I was hoping that this was a possibility as well. I have a plan for this, and for the Shard as well. They will both help strengthen me in two very different ways.</p><p>I quickly go through my inventory and pull out all the items I don't use often enough to be worth keeping that I can consume for enchantments. And I end up with quite a few, I've collected a lot of stuff.</p><p>The Blackened Bone Dagger, Bloodhound Ring, Double Strike Dagger, Exorcist Robes, Handmaid's Dagger, Iron Dagger of Fire, Ivy Chest Piece, Multiversal Telepathic Collar, Ragged Mantle of Death, Red Tearstone Ring, Ring of Visibility, Sanctified Whip, Expert Belt, Monocle of Appraisal, Pendant of Curse Resistance, and Float Stone all get consumed. And I'm pleasantly surprised to find that learning enchantments gets me a good chunk of XP. It's just enough to get the skill to level 25.</p><p>
  <strong>[Enchanting] - Level 25(19%)<br/>Use catalysts to imbue items with magical abilities. Maximum of 2 enchantments per item. Can be used to destroy an item to learn its enchantment.</strong>
</p><p>Already up to being able to add 2 enchantments to things without ever having enchanted any. Nice. Now to get what I need to actually enchant.</p><p>I hop over to the zombie dungeon. It's the dungeon I can clear the fastest and I'm just looking for the drops. But there's a surprise waiting for me in the safe room.</p><p>A man in a large coat with his face wrapped in cloth is standing in the corner. He gestures as he sees me.</p><p>"Aah, stranger, good of you to drop by," he says in a raspy and familiar voice. "I've got a selection of good things on sale for ya."</p><p>Suspicious, I use [Observe] on him.</p><p>
  <strong>The Merchant<br/>Race: Dungeon Vendor<br/>?</strong>
</p><p>Dungeon Vendor? So he's some kind of NPC? He does look and sound exactly like the merchant from Resident Evil 4.</p><p>I make a show of relaxing and walk over to him. "What are you selling?"</p><p>"I've got a fine selection for ya stranger," he says with a raspy chuckle. "With that nasty Lich no longer watching over this place, I managed to collect all sorts of useful things. Give it a look." He waves his hand and a game window appears in front of me.</p><p>Definitely an NPC then. And looking at the list, an NPC that sells me the things that drop from the Dungeon. I guess that means I can skip the farming. Though maybe not entirely, as I note that the currency I have to use is Hunie. Well, no matter. I have a lot of potions just sitting in my inventory I can sell, especially now with all the ingredients I have.</p><p>I scroll through the list of things I can buy. Most of it is unremarkable, though having a place where I can bulk buy rotweed and human bone is convenient. But at the bottom is something especially nice. Minor Catalyst, 25 Hunie each.</p><p>"Gimme 300 of those Minor Catalysts," I say. That's all my Hunie, but I can make it back easily.</p><p>"Spending big on the good stuff eh?" he comments. "Done deal stranger. You'll clean me out though, and it'll be a few days before I can restock on those. Is that all?"</p><p>"For now," I reply as I check my inventory. I'm now out of Hunie, but I have more than enough items for enchanting. Annoying that he won't have more though. I'll have to get to work on another Hardmode Dungeon.</p><p>"Come find me if you want anything else," the Merchant says. "You can usually find me in one of these safe rooms."</p><p>I nod and use [Dungeon Traversal] to leave the dungeon and go back to my room. I don't have time to chat with NPCs. He saved me time, sure, but that just meant I could focus more on grinding my skills.</p><p>Which is what I do. I can't do anything with the magical animal hides I've gotten from the dungeon, presumably because my level is too low. But I expected that much, so it's fine. That's why I bought an insane amount of wool.</p><p>My first cloak takes me 10 minutes to make. But my second one only takes me five minutes. And then, as [Tailoring] levels up and as I figure out tricks to save time for making a lot of them, such as [Void Edge] and a sharp knife letting me cut over twenty layers of cloth at once, over the next three hours I'm able to make 100 simple hooded cloaks with black wool.</p><p>Enough to get my [Tailoring] to level 29. The skill description didn't change at 25, but if I think about the non-magical animal hides I have in my inventory, I can imagine how to turn them into armor. Hell, I know how to turn my normal cloth into padded armor.</p><p>Still, that's pretty good progress for now. Now for the next part, enchanting them all. First, I take out a Minor Catalyst. It's a small square completely transparent gem, like glass, but not quite. I wanted to use a better enchantment for these cloaks, but minor will work.</p><p>Or maybe I can? As I think about better catalysts and [Enchanting], I get a niggling feeling in the back of my mind. Following that feeling, I pull two more Minor Catalysts out of my inventory. I press all three of them together and watch as they fuse together, flowing like water into each other, to form a slightly larger gem. [Observe] confirms that it's now a Moderate Catalyst.</p><p>So I can turn my lesser catalysts into better ones. Good. It would be annoying to have a bunch of Minor Catalysts and no reason to use them at higher levels. I quickly make a bunch more Moderate Catalysts and try to fuse them to the next tier, but it doesn't work. It's probably restricted by my [Enchanting] level then.</p><p>Whatever, Moderate is fine. Holding just one of the moderate catalysts in my hand, I use [Enchanting] on it. I watch it transform from clear to a murky gray as the magic seeps in.</p><p>
  <strong>Moderate Enchantment Crystal(Fortify Stealth)<br/>Add to an item to give it the Moderate Fortify Stealth Enchantment</strong>
</p><p>I grab one of the cloaks I made and press the catalyst against it. Once again, it flows almost like water into the cloak, and the cloak suddenly becomes slightly magical to my senses. [Observe] confirms it.</p><p>
  <strong>Wool Cloak of Shadows<br/>Makes you more difficult to see in dark environments.</strong>
</p><p>Interesting. The enchantment I used on it was one I got from the Ivy Chest Piece and that increased stealth in forested environments. Does it partially depend on what I put the enchantment on? I'll have to keep that in mind.</p><p>I spend another hour enchanting all the cloaks I made with the same thing. A hundred cloaks later, [Enchanting] is up to level 40. Then, I pull out my phone and see how much I can sell them for. I go through the process of selling them through the Hunie Store. When I make my selection, a massive cardboard box appears in the room.</p><p>The Mailman really sticks to that class delivery aesthetic huh? I dump all the cloaks into the box, shut it, and hit confirm on my phone. The box disappears, and I become 25,000 Hunie richer.</p><p>Yes, that's right. I sold each cloak for 250 Hunie. Honestly, it feels too cheap. But then again it was only a moderate enchantment and some cheap wool, so maybe not.</p><p>Still, I need more catalysts if I want to improve my skill, and since the Merchant said he would be out, that means farming in the dungeons, old school style. I glance at the time. A little under four hours until I wake everyone up to start training. Let's see how much of the Hardmode Forest Dungeon I can get done. If I finish that, maybe an NPC will appear there as well.</p><hr/><p>The Hardmode Forest Dungeon is intense. It's just a large patch of woods, not separated into four quadrants like the normal version. Instead, there are a dozen pockets of factions that I discover, and I'm pretty sure I only explored half of it. Not to mention the roaming boss, a large boar the size of a semi-truck.</p><p>I tried attacking it to clear the dungeon early, but my attacks bounced off. A belated [Observe] showed that it was protected by four seals. Just like the door to the boss room in the normal version of the dungeon.</p><p>After teleporting away from the then enraged boss, I clear out a dozen encampments of different kinds of creatures. Mostly different kinds of plant-based creatures, with a few furry beasts such as bears and large cats.</p><p>I find one boss, a large gryphon, that [Observe] tells me is a "Keeper of a Seal". Killing it seemed to enrage the boss and bring it rushing to my location, though [Fade] keeps it from finding me, and I was able to [Observe] it and confirm one of the seals protecting it is gone.</p><p>Unfortunately, that's all I had time for. Still, I made some decent progress. One mini boss down, some good loot, more catalysts, and some good XP.</p><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 248<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Hollow Knight(48/100)[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 11,100 (222 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 45,520 (1366 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 13,840 (277 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 555<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 667(692)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 872<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1138<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1004<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 391<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 483(493)</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 1000 WIS<br/>[Mana Factory] - Increases mana regeneration</strong>
</p><p>Just like 1000 INT, all the 1000 WIS perk does is increase my MP regeneration rate. Which I'm more than fine with, because now I can cast [Void Beam] at effectively no cost, so long as I'm not casting anything else that uses MP.</p><p>Besides the normal array of crafting ingredients, potions, money, and heart crystals, I also get a dagger that deals poison damage and a bracelet that increases STR that I immediately break down with [Enchanting] and a nice piece of wooden armor that will fit perfectly on Atsuko.</p><p>I also pick up two new skills.</p><p><strong>[Control Plants] - Level 12(16%)<br/></strong> <strong>Control plants within 12 meters of you. MP cost depends on the number and type of plants.</strong></p><p><strong>[Hunt] - Level 13(39%)<br/></strong> <strong>Mark a target with this skill for 100 SP. Tracking them is easier and you do 113% damage against them.</strong></p><p>And [Void Drain] reaches level 50, unlocking two more things it can drain.</p><p><strong>[Void Drain] - Level 50(62%)<br/></strong> <strong>Tap into the all-consuming properties of the Void. Coat one or both hands in the hungry Void. Currently can drain: Magic, Stamina, Health, Elements, Stats</strong></p><p>I've already tested out draining both elements and Stats. elements aren't something I can drain directly from enemies, but it increases how much of their attacks I absorb. And I can stick my hand in water or dirt and start absorbing those as well. I don't gain anything from it, but I can do it.</p><p>As for draining stats, I <em>do</em> get the stats I steal, but only temporarily. As soon as the drain stops, I start losing them at about 1% a second. And I don't think I get all of them either, the efficiency of the stats I steal is low. Still, it's a pretty good short term boost that also weakens my opponents. It's just not a game-breaking way to gain unlimited power quickly.</p><p>And then finally, the best of them all. Six more gacha tokens. I don't hesitate to use them.</p><p>
  <strong>Dancing Sword<br/>Can be thrown into the air to operate independently, following your will</strong>
</p><p>Ooh, interesting. The sword itself isn't very special, just a pretty standard iron longsword, but that enchantment is nice. Immediately I destroy it with [Enchanting] to learn it myself.</p><p>
  <strong>Grubsong<br/>Charm accessory. Gain MP equal to HP lost from enemy attacks.</strong>
</p><p>Another powerful enchantment, don't mind if I do. Though isn't this from Hollow Knight? Shouldn't it restore soul, not MP? Then again, the Game doesn't seem to offer much assistance when it comes to soul stuff, so maybe it just tweaked it to fill MP instead. Whatever, MP is more useful to me anyway. Mostly because I can put the enchantment on other things.</p><p>
  <strong>Game Board<br/>An item that can hold up to 5 lands. Lands are circular, with a radius of 5 miles, and can be added by pressing a button to copy the surrounding area. The lands can be entered as pocket dimensions and are devoid of life. Damage done to lands is reset when the land is exited. Can be exited by simply willing it, or by being willed out by the owner of the Game Board.</strong>
</p><p>Now, this is the sort of thing I expect from the Gacha. The potential for five different areas where I can fight enemies without risking collateral damage. The Devils have a way of doing something similar, but I don't like having to depend on them for things. I wonder if it works in Dungeons. Something to try later.</p><p>
  <strong>Ring of Steel Protection<br/>Reduces all damage by 10%</strong>
</p><p>Another enchantment, and a damn good one at that.</p><p>
  <strong>Pearl of Wisdom<br/>Can be used to get the answer to any one question. The question can be anything, but it must be one that can have an objectively true and complete answer. It's advised to be specific, because while it won't try to cheat you out of a proper answer, a vague question may lead to an answer that isn't quite what you needed.</strong>
</p><p>Another powerful item, though it's a consumable one. There's a part of me that's tempted to pull it out and figure out the best way to deal with Kokabiel. But I quash that thought. There are a dozen ways to handle him, all within my capabilities. No, he's not a threat worth wasting this on. There are much bigger threats that will be much more annoying to deal with. So I pocket it for now. I'll wait until I'm confronted with one of those.</p><p>
  <strong>Void Plate<br/>A small disk of darker than black metal. Is completely unaffected by all magic or supernatural forces, and very resistant to physical ones.</strong>
</p><p>Oh? Interested, I pull it out. It's exactly as the item describes it. It's a small disc, slightly smaller than a dinner plate. It feels like metal, but it's hard to describe what it looks like. There's black, and then there's an absence of light, and then there's <em>this</em>. But rather than give me a headache, I can only describe it as beautiful.</p><p>I can think of a few uses. Yet more defense for Atsuko for one. Or perhaps someone less tanky, since it's pretty light. Or perhaps I could use it for something else. I skim through my inventory, picking out items. Hmm. One item short. I'll save the Void Plate for now, but I have ideas for it as well.</p><p>Gacha done, I look at the time. It's still relatively early in the morning, but it's about thirty minutes before I told everyone to wake up. I shrug, and [Void Travel] downstairs. Might as well start getting breakfast ready. Thankfully Rias has the place stocked with ingredients, so I don't have to worry about that.</p><p>Koneko is the first one to arrive downstairs, nose twitching as she enters the room, and her eyes widen at the feast I've laid out on the table. Pancakes, bacon, toast, ham, eggs cooked three different ways, and a few other things. Since I had the ingredients and what turned out to be a <em>very</em> nice kitchen, I went a bit overboard. Enough to bring [Cooking] up to level 49. So close to level 50. I'll hit it tonight, for sure.</p><p>"Good morning Koneko," I greet her as I finish up one last batch of scrambled eggs. "The others are waking up now. Go ahead and start eating while we wait for them."</p><p>She wordlessly bolts to the table and starts assembling multiple plates of food, taking bites of them even as she gets more food. I laugh and turn my attention back to cooking. [Void Detect] lets me know that the others are in various states of waking up and will be downstairs soon.</p><p>In the few minutes that it takes for everyone else to trickle in, Koneko makes a sizable dent on the food just by herself. She's definitely eaten more than she should be able to physically fit into her stomach. It's actually pretty impressive.</p><p>The others are in various states of alertness, struggling to wake up. Asia, the only person here other than me that isn't a nocturnal Devil, seems to be doing the best, alongside Kiba. On the other end of the spectrum, Atsuko and Aika look like they're barely managing to stay awake. It must be rough to be a freshly turned Devil.</p><p>The food seems to help wake everyone up though, both when they smell it and after they take their first bites. I'm basked in compliments as I finish cooking and make my own small plate of food.</p><p>While we eat, I use [Observe] on Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba, to remind myself how strong they are.</p><p><strong>Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 119[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 2,040 (1,224 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 3,690 (111 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 1,650 (50 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 68<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 55<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 48<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 123<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 112<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 164<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 333</strong></p><p><strong>Akeno Himejima<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 102[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Half-Fallen)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 1,740 (1,044 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 5,250 (158 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 1,560 (47 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 58<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 52<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 60<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 175<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 168<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 145<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 126</strong></p><p><strong>Koneko Toujou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 78[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Nekoshou)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 4,200 (2520 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1,740 (52 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4,200 (126 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 140<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 140<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 100<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 58<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 73<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 75<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 36</strong></p><p><strong>Yuuto Kiba<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 75[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,090 (1854 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1,470 (44 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3,330 (100 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 103<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 111<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 196<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 49<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 33<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 85<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 23</strong></p><p>Honestly, not that bad compared to Riser. With even numbers, they might've stood a chance. Maybe. They'd still need a way to get past his regeneration. But it's a non-issue now. I can make them strong enough to have no problem, Rias has Atsuko and Aika she can rely on as well, and I have a few ideas on ways to deal with Riser.</p><p>Also, it's nice seeing the Overflowing Health perk in action. They regain their HP at a monstrous rate thanks to it.</p><p>Surprisingly, all the food gets eaten. I made more than what I thought would be needed and planned on storing the rest in my inventory, but I guess a [Cooking] level approaching 50 really encourages people to eat as much as they can.</p><p>"Alright everyone," I say as everyone is finishing up. "Here's the plan. In the morning, we're going to be doing group training using my secret method. The goal here is to strengthen you and get you guys used to working in groups against multiple enemies."</p><p>"How are we going to train against multiple enemies?" Kiba asks. "Are we going to split up into teams and fight each other?"</p><p>"You'll see," I answer him. "Don't worry, I'll explain in a moment. After group training, we'll eat lunch and go over what we did, what worked, what didn't, and what we need to work on. Then after lunch, we'll do some individual training. You all have different strengths and skills to focus on. I'll be going around and helping each of you one on one, giving you tips and helping you practice. Here's where some of you might also benefit from sparring against each other.</p><p>"After that, we'll break for dinner and spend an hour or so talking strategy. By then it'll be night, the perfect time for you devils to get some strength training in. You'll all work on your stamina, and the more melee-focused combatants will get some strength training in. After that, we all cool down with a bath and I'll be offering massages for anyone who wants one to help prevent sore muscles before we go to bed to start it all again tomorrow."</p><p>Atsuko perks up at the mention of massages, and Aika smirks knowingly at me.</p><p>"That's quite the schedule," Rias comments. "Are you sure it's going to be enough though? You've covered everything but…" She glances at Atsuko and Aika. "Our two newest members are still weak, and they may need more than that."</p><p>"We can adjust things if necessary," I say, not worried. "But I don't think we'll have to." I stand up. "Come on, if you guys are ready, we'll go ahead and get started."</p><p>The others get up to follow me as I lead them outside, and I start explaining as we walk. "Atsuko, Aika, and Asia already know this, but I have access to what I believe are pocket dimensions, little bubbles of reality tucked away out of normal reach. I call them Dungeons, because each one is filled with fake monsters to fight, and defeating them makes you stronger, and they even drop loot, just like a video game or tabletop roleplaying game."</p><p>I can feel the shock and disbelief coming from behind me. "That's…." Rias starts but trails off, apparently not knowing how to comment on that.</p><p>"Pretty useful, I know," I finish for her. "But as they say, seeing is believing, so why don't I show all of you instead of explaining it?" Before anyone can protest, I use [Dungeon Traversal] and bring us all into the normal Forest Dungeon.</p><p>"Did you just teleport us?" Akeno asks as she looks around at the drastically changed landscape. The mountains and woods have been replaced with a much flatter terrain with much denser trees, and the feeling in the air has changed.</p><p>"Sort of," I say. "We're now in one of those pocket dimensions. We're safe right here, but beyond this clearing live a variety of 'monsters'."</p><p>"This isn't the place you brought us yesterday," Atsuko comments as she looks around.</p><p>"That one would be too easy for this group," I say. "Hell, this one is probably too easy for Rias and Akeno. But we need to get all of you up to a certain level of strength before we move on to anything too difficult."</p><p>"I'm sorry Axton, but can you explain more about what this place is?" Rias asks, confused.</p><p>I shrug. "Not a lot, no. I know you can't exit this forest. You get to a point where you can see further, but you can't go. Not even my teleportation works." Or at least I assume it doesn't. I haven't actually tried though. "The creatures here are fake, and they disappear when slain. I know this place is somehow tied to my ability to store things in my pocket space though, because sometimes after I kill something here, items will appear in there."</p><p>Her eyes widen, though she also relaxes some. "So this is part of you Sacred Gear?" she asks.</p><p>I shrug. "If my pocket space is a Sacred Gear, then I guess so yeah." I guess the idea of this being a Sacred Gear functionality makes more sense to her. Well, whatever makes her more focused on training than trying to figure out this place.</p><p>Seeing that there weren't any more questions, I continue. "Alright, so here's how it's going to work. This forest is split up into four different quadrants. Each of those quadrants is home to a different variety of monsters. Our goal will be to work as a group to clear each of these one at a time. Understood?" Nods all around. "Great. Let's get started."</p><hr/><p>Fun fact, when you bring a bunch of people into the dungeon, the spawn rates increase. I had noticed it a little yesterday when I had Atsuko, Aika, and Asia with me and the first room had two hollows in it instead of just one, but it's even more obvious here.</p><p>Suffice to say, even with all of us, there are plenty of enemies to go around. I bring them to the area with the mushroom people and pixies first, figuring they would have the easiest time of that.</p><p>And that turns out to be true. The enemies aren't dangerous for them, especially after I give them all [Unnatural Rhythm] with Mentor, since that's the only skill of mine that helps everyone no matter how they fight. Even the mushroom people aren't dangerous to Atsuko with the Elderwood armor I gave her and with her maintaining 2 boosts. With the Cloranthy ring, she could maintain a much higher boost, but it's important that she gets used to her strength before going all out. I gave her a big ax after all. It wouldn't do for her to make a mistake with that and hurt someone else. Two boosts are more than enough for enemies of this strength anyway.</p><p>But while the enemies themselves aren't a threat, it quickly becomes clear that their teamwork needs work. Though in their defense, it seems to be caused more by it being new than them being bad at working together. Rias eventually takes charge and starts organizing things so that the casters are no longer flinging spells at the same targets, and that the fighters aren't getting in the way of attacks and were aggroing properly.</p><p>Though the pixies remain a nuisance throughout, proving difficult to hit with both melee and ranged spells. Kiba probably has the easiest time of it, his sword quick enough to slash through them before they can react, and Akeno can usually get them with her lightning. Rias and Aika struggle to hit them with their spells, but it's good practice for them so I encourage them to keep at it. Atsuko and Koneko struggle the most though. It wasn't impossible for them, but it's difficult, especially when Atsuko gets frustrated and starts swinging her ax wildly.</p><p>Asia...well, she was trying. She learned a new miracle, one that let her emit a wave of force. She could control it to either burst in every direction, or just a narrow range, and so far she's been using it mostly just to keep the pixies off of her. It doesn't hurt them, just sends them tumbling in the air and makes them a little dizzy. But I think they find it fun because she seems to get targeted the most. I send Yua to help her and make sure not too many crowd her at once.</p><p>Even with the increased enemy spawn it only takes them a couple of hours to clear out that section of the forest. I go ahead and deactivate the wardstone. Finding it isn't part of their training, just killing things and working as a team. And neither is finding the treasure chests, which I've looted all of while they killed, sending a Doppelganger to do so while I keep an eye on the rest of the party.</p><p>By the time that section is clear, we've made some decent progress. Rias's level rose by five, while Aika and Atsuko's levels rose by twelve, and everyone else increased by an amount between those two values, depending on what level they were before we started. Even I gained a level, putting me at level 249.</p><p>The loot I got is okay, but not great. Mostly more crafting ingredients, including some nice magical animal pelts and some enchanting catalysts. But I did get a LUK Crystal that increased my LUK by ten and two Super Heart Crystals.</p><p>More interestingly, teaching [Unnatural Rhythm] to all of them and having them fight pushed my [Mentor] level to over 60, and after 50, my limit on taught skills increased to three. I hold off on teaching any for now though. I have a couple in mind, but honestly, not a lot of my skills are very helpful for some of them.</p><p>After a fifteen-minute rest, I bring them to the next area, the one with the hidden living plants. That area is far more hectic, and their lack of coordination and teamwork shows. As they are ambushed, their formation falls apart as they scramble to find the plants and take care of them.</p><p>No one gets really hurt though. Some cuts, bruises, and a few burns. But those are healed quickly by both Asia and their natural healing rate boosted by Overflowing Health. We make good time cutting through the forest and clearing it of living plants.</p><p>By the time I disarm the wardstone, everyone is tired and sweaty. I look at the time and decide that's enough for the day. We made some good progress here too, even better than in the other section. Rias gained six levels, while Aika and Atsuko gained fourteen. Both of them reached level 54, and when they rose to above 50, their HP, MP, and SP jumped up.</p><p>I also reached level 250 and gained yet another Trait.</p><p>
  <strong>[Hollow Soul] - Your mind and soul are immune to tampering, even by divine forces</strong>
</p><p>[Gamer's Mind] had already been protecting my mind, even against Divinity I assume, but having my soul protected as well is a massive boon. That should prevent The Man in the Wall from fucking with me directly. I half expected him to show up when I got it, but he didn't. Maybe because I'm surrounded by other people. Or maybe he can't now? I doubt it though.</p><p>[Mentor] rose all the way to level 85. Teaching such a large group of people, even if they didn't know they were being taught skills, was doing wonders for the skill level. And the higher it rose, the faster it rose as they gained more of the XP.</p><p>As far as loot goes, it's mostly just more crafting ingredients. The only item of note is the pair of Livingwood Gauntlets that I give to Koneko.</p><p>"Good work today guys!" I tell them as I pull them back to the real world with [Dungeon Traversal]. "I'm sure you guys can feel it, but you've made a lot of great progress today."</p><p>And they have.</p><p><strong>Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 132[94%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,210 (1926 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 4,860 (146 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 2,820 (85 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 107<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 94<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 87<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 162<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 151<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 203<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 372</strong></p><p><strong>Akeno Himejima<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 117[6%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Half-Fallen)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,090 (1854 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 6,600 (198 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 2,910 (87 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 103<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 97<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 105<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 220<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 213<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 160<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 141</strong></p><p><strong>Koneko Toujou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 95[15%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Nekoshou)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 6,240 (3744 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 2,250 (68 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 6,240 (187 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 208<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 208<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 134<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 75<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 90<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 92<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 53</strong></p><p><strong>Yuuto Kiba<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 92[46%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 4,110 (2466 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1,980 (59 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4,860 (146 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 137<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 162<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 264<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 66<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 50<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 102<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 40</strong></p><p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 54[39%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,090 (1860 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 2,880 (86 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3,120 (1954 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 103<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 104<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 102<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 96<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 97<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 147<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 122</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Aika Kiryuu<br/></strong>
  <strong>Level: 54[25%]<br/></strong>
  <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong>
  <strong>HP: 2,640 (1584 per minute)<br/></strong>
  <strong>MP: 5,130 (192 per minute)<br/></strong>
  <strong>SP: 1,830 (55 per minute)<br/></strong>
  <strong>CON: 88<br/></strong>
  <strong>STR: 61<br/></strong>
  <strong>DEX: 62<br/></strong>
  <strong>INT: 171<br/></strong>
  <strong>WIS: 171<br/></strong>
  <strong>CHA: 63<br/></strong>
  <strong>LUK: 63</strong>
</p><p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 61[65%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 660 (7 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 2,640 (79 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 650 (7 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 66<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 65<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 64<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 132<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 204<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 135<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 67</strong></p><p>For just four hours of grinding in the dungeon, it's good progress. I'm tempted to keep them in there longer, but their level isn't the only thing that matters. They need to practice their skills and their specialties to make the tools they can use in battle, and some one on one time would do those skills wonders. Especially Aika, Atsuko, and Asia; the newbies.</p><p>But that's later. Right now it's time to eat and debrief. There are some tables outside, and walking over to them I pull out several large platters stacked with sandwiches and sliced fruit. Turns out, even something as simple as preparing fruit increased [Cooking], though not by much. I prepared these before I made breakfast this morning.</p><p>I turn to the others, still catching their breath. "Well, for now, rest up and eat. We'll discuss how the dungeon went as you eat."</p><p>Everyone perks as I mention food, and they quickly make their way to the tables and start grabbing sandwiches. As they eat, I address them one by one.</p><p>"Rias," I start, capturing her attention. "You did good coordinating the group when you saw that things were messy, though it took you too long to start doing so, and you struggled to maintain that in the second section. As a King, you lead your peerage. Whether you do that from the back, middle, and front, you're in charge of organizing your Peerage."</p><p>She nods and swallows the sandwich in her mouth. "I know. I'm just not used to leading such a large group."</p><p>"Thankfully, that's what this training is for," I reply. "Make that your priority when we're in the dungeon. Leave getting better at your magic for the individual training we'll do after lunch. I have some ideas to help."</p><p>She nods, a determined look on her face, so I shift my gaze to Akeno. "You did a pretty good job with the pixies. You picked your targets well, keeping them from bunching up on the front line, and your lightning was accurate. I have to ask though, can you use more than lightning?"</p><p>She nods. "I can. Lightning is my best, but I can use most of the elements fairly well."</p><p>"Then did you not notice that the mushroom people were resistant to electricity?" I ask.</p><p>She frowned. "I assumed that the damage was difficult to see, or they were tough enough to ignore it."</p><p>I shake my head. "Only to electricity. They're quite weak to fire, as are the plants in the second section. When facing unknown enemies, experimenting with different types of attacks to figure out what they're weak to is important. If everything is neutral, then use what you're best at. But if they don't go down easily and they have a weakness, it's almost always better to exploit that."</p><p>She frowns, but I can tell from her expression that she's mulling it over. "I'll try to keep that in mind," she says.</p><p>"Great," I reply, before turning my attention to Koneko and Kiba. "You two did great together. You split your targets, made sure to keep the backline safe, and never got in each other's way. It's obvious you two have worked together before. If I have any criticism, it's that you need to get used to there being three melee fighters now that Atsuko has joined you. Rather than all three of you working together, it was more you two working together while you left a portion of the enemies to Atsuko. Which worked here, but that's because the enemies here are dumb and weak. In a rating game, you'll need better coordination. So communicate with her. You two might be able to fight together without much communication, but you'll have to communicate with her until she reaches that point as well." Both nod and Kiba looks a little sheepish.</p><p>I turn to Atsuko. "Speaking of you. You did fine. You need practice with your ax and with your Boosted Gear, but that's a given. For now, focus on working with Kiba and Koneko. Listen to what they say to do, learn from them. And be aware of where they are. You have a heavy weapon, and used improperly, that can be dangerous to your teammates if you are fighting in close proximity. Keep that in mind."</p><p>She nods. "Should I be using more Boosts? I know you said to only do two, but I'm pretty sure I can do more than that."</p><p>"We'll slowly increase how many boosts you use," I placate her. "You'll use more for your individual training. For now, when working with others, I want to keep it low until you get used to fighting." She shrugs, accepting that, and turns her attention back to the food.</p><p>I turn to Aika next. "Like Atsuko, what you need is practice. But unlike her, what you also need is a wider repertoire of spells. Part of your individual training will be studying your grimoire to learn more. It'll be something good to do while you wait for your magic to recover. After that, we'll start focusing on how best to use those spells."</p><p>"There are a lot of useful ones I have left to learn," she says. "Which ones should I focus on?"</p><p>"You and I will take some time to figure that out during individual training," I tell her. "Until then, focus on controlling your Dark Missile. See how much you can affect the size, how quickly you can make it, how fast it moves, and its flight path."</p><p>"Okay," she says. "There is one more spell I think I can cast. But I need a gem or focus of some kind to cast it on."</p><p>"I know what spell you're talking about," I say. The Soul Trap spell. I saw it when I was flipping through the grimoire when I first got it. It captures the souls of those that died in a certain range of the focus it's cast on and those souls can be used to empower her other spells. I understand why she would be vague about it too. It's kind of dark, especially since it doesn't mention what happens to the souls when they're used like that. Are they killed? Just transformed into pure power? Do they move on to whatever afterlife? No idea. I don't care, and Aika doesn't seem to, but it's a touchy subject for many.</p><p>"What kind of gem do you need?" I ask. I have several sitting in my inventory.</p><p>"Any type really," she says. "The bigger the better, and some produce slightly different results. Like a ruby would make my attacks stronger, but the range shorter. Not by a lot, but it would be there. Diamonds are 'pure' though and don't have any effects at all, so I'd prefer that, but finding a diamond that would work would be-"</p><p>I pull one of my golfball-sized diamonds out of my inventory and toss it to her. She catches it out of reflex and her eyes widen as she looks at it. "Impossible," she finishes before she looks up at me. "Is this real? Where did you get a diamond this big?"</p><p>I shrug. "As far as I can tell, yes. And I got it in the dungeon. Let me know if you need more. I have a few different kinds of gems, all the same size and shape. That should also fit perfectly in the slot on top of your staff."</p><p>She looks at the blackened bone staff leaning on the table next to her and gently pushes the diamond into the slot where Kronika's Gem was held. It snaps into place perfectly. Then she looks at me. "How rich are you?" she asks.</p><p>I shrug. "In terms of cash? Not very. More than a highschooler for sure, but not enough to really start investing in businesses or whatever rich people do with their money. But I <em>do</em> have a lot of really valuable things that would probably make me rich if I sold them all."</p><p>Her brow furrows as she thinks about that, and I move on to Asia to finish up. She looks nervous. "I'm not sure what critique to give you," I tell her honestly. "Like the previous two, you need practice, but you play a more supportive role. The healing you did was good, even if it wasn't needed often. I don't think I can help you improve that. As for your waves of force, you just need to use them more and get used to it. Learning other miracles would be useful in the long term, but most of them you can't use on anyone here but me."</p><p>She nods sadly. "There are only two other ones that would be fine, but neither of them are very helpful here…" she trails off.</p><p>"Do you maybe want to try a weapon?" I ask her tentatively. "I have some Exorcist weapons I stole from the Fallen. The gun is probably a little too dangerous to use as part of the group until you get better at it, but the sword should be fine, at least for something where you get surrounded by enemies like with the pixies."</p><p>"I'm not sure," she says hesitantly, her eyes downcast. "I don't really want to fight." She looks up at me. "Do you want me to?"</p><p>"I just want you to be safe, and for you to be able to protect yourself," I tell her. "We'll figure it out during the individual training. For now, just focus on that force one. It's a good one. If you can get a lot of control over it, and if you can make it strong, it'll help keep you safe."</p><p>"Okay," she agrees, and she slowly nibbles on a sandwich. [Empathy] reads frustration and helplessness from her, and I have to hold back a sigh. It seems her not contributing much is bothering her a lot. I pat her on the head before I sit down next to her and grab a sandwich of my own.</p><p>Only halfway through the first day of training out of seven. Already we've made some good progress, but we have a long way to go.</p><hr/><p>-Bonus Scene-</p><p>Hibiki sighed and finally relaxed as the last person left. Moving was difficult, and doing it by herself would have been impossible. She was a small girl, and even a normal-sized 20-year-old girl would have trouble moving all of her furniture and boxes of stuff from one apartment to another all by herself. Especially since she didn't have a license.</p><p>Thankfully her family was very understanding and willing to come all the way to Kuoh to help. They could have hired a moving service to do it, but they knew that having a bunch of strangers handle her things would have made her uncomfortable, so her father rented a truck and drove it himself. It wasn't a very big truck, so even with the relatively small amount of stuff she owned it required a few trips, but he didn't complain, and he had even helped her unpack Hibiki loved him for that.</p><p>Though there was one box she handled herself. She insisted on it, and her father didn't fight her on it. He probably thought it was her panties or something, rather than the small collection of sex toys it really was.</p><p>At first, she had only had a couple. A vibrating wand that she had owned for a couple of years now that her mother had actually gotten for her in one of the most embarrassing moments of her life, and a small dildo she had gotten on a whim one day and briefly experimented with before deciding she liked the wand more.</p><p>But recently she had gotten more curious, and her collection had grown a bit. The first thing she bought was an egg vibrator. She saw them a lot in porn, and since she liked her wand, she thought that the egg vibrator would be more her style. And it was, sorta. It wasn't like the wand at all really, not unless she held it against her clit. But when she put it inside of herself, it was...different. The orgasm she got from that wasn't like the ones she got from using her wand. That was an electric buildup until it all exploded. The egg was slower, hotter, and it felt more like waves of pleasure washing over her than the sharp jolts the wand produced. It wasn't bad though, even if it took longer.</p><p>She also bought two more dildos, one medium-sized and another large. She knew she was small, so the plan was to slowly work her way up to increase how much she could fit inside herself.</p><p>She blushed as she thought of that plan. That was definitely inspired by the dreams she'd been having recently. The weirdly realistic ones where she would have sex with her neighbor.</p><p>Or well, her <em>former</em> neighbor. She sighed. She moved out because she wanted a cat, and to be closer to the handful of places she went to. Mostly the convenience store and the game store. But she was going to miss listening in on him and the girls he slept with. Those were the best masturbation sessions she'd ever had, and her art had really kicked off since then.</p><p>She went into her bedroom and onto the small porch and looked out at the view. This place really was nice. She was still in the middle of town, so the view wasn't amazing, but she was higher up than any of the other buildings she could see from here, so she could see pretty far.</p><p>The noises of construction pulled her attention downwards though, and she frowned. Right next door was a large construction site. The ground had been leveled and equipment was being moved in. She frowned. Wasn't there a building there just yesterday when she came to pick up the key? It was some old supermarket or something. She hadn't paid close attention. But now it was just gone.</p><p>She frowned at the scene closer. Wasn't that way too many people for a construction site this new? Not that she knew anything about construction, but there were a lot of people down there, and all of them were moving quickly. The equipment looked a little weird too. It was just slightly off of anything else she had ever seen. Maybe some fancy new brand? But who would pay that much money for a random spot in Kuoh?</p><p>At least it wasn't too loud. Not yet at least. She hadn't heard it until she came out onto the porch. Hopefully it wouldn't get too much louder than this. Putting it out of her mind, she goes back inside. Now that she had moved into her new place, she could do the most important thing. Adopting a cat.</p><p>As she moved to her computer to start looking for places she could adopt a cat from, her eyes caught on the one unpacked box. The one filled with her sex toys. She bit her lip softly as a small pulse of arousal washed over her.</p><p>Deciding that research can wait a little bit she opened the box and pulled out the small dildo. It would do as the device that brought her to her celebratory first orgasm in her new place.</p><p>Stripping and crawling onto her bed, her thoughts filled with fantasies about her ex-neighbor, wishing she could see him again even as she starts pleasuring herself.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I'm on Patreon! I'd very much appreciate it. (sorry for the typos, blame FF)<br/>patreon.com/shiftysword </p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Shoutout to RNG for those First Impressions rolls. They really fit exactly what I was hoping for. And for the Gacha rolls. Didn't have to fudge a single roll and yet Axton still ended up with a bunch of really good enchantments.</p><p>Also shoutout to being back to reasonably sized chapters! Sorta. It's still kinda long. This was originally going to be longer, but I realized it was going to be way too long and picked the good stopping point to end it at. This does mean I didn't cover as much as I wanted to, but oh well. It means getting the chapter out sooner, especially since I was delayed a few days by planning out this arc in detail. It's also been delayed by me playing Bloodborne recently. Never got around to it before, but I'm enjoying it now. I might include a little bit of it down the road, but we'll see.</p><p>Sorry for no lewds this chapter. I did say way back that I couldn't promise them every chapter, and the downside of the plot means that sometimes there's just not really a good chance, especially if I want to stay in character. Sure, he could have had sex with Aika and/or Atsuko the night before the training started, but he had a lot of prep to do and it would have cut into that time. Axton's horny, but he can set it aside when he needs to get work done.</p><p>The bonus scene was going to be lewder, but in the end, it was going to just be the same as the semi-canon omake, but with a slightly different scenario, and I just wasn't interested. So have a non-lewd Hibiki scene. Mostly non-lewd anyway. She's lewd, and even when I don't plan on it, that trait shows lol. Also, I finally decided on an age for her. She's 20 and attends the bare minimum of college courses online. I decided that I liked the idea of her being an adult that could legally drink, but one that gets mistaken as a middle schooler, much to her frustration. It's a fun trope, and you even see it in real life.</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord. gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. DxD: Getting Into Shape 02</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-I fucked up Aika's stats and wasn't giving her the proper stat growth for being a Bishop reincarnated Devil. Her CON is now a little higher, and her INT and WIS are significantly higher now.<br/>-Heart Crystal drop rates have been modified to hopefully make them less common. He was getting too many before.<br/>-Changed the wording on the [Mentor] skill to make it clear that Axton can only teach party members up to five skills, even if one is maxed out, he cannot teach them more unless one is removed.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>We split up, spreading out along the mountainside, each person finding a spot to train by themselves or in pairs. I give each of them instructions on what to focus on. While they do, I carve out a chunk of time for each of them, helping guide them one on one. And I start with the King, Rias.</p><p>"Explain your magic to me," I tell her. We're standing in a clearing, no one else in sight, and in front of us is a large wall of rock.</p><p>"I wield the Power of Destruction," she says. "It's the Bael family magic, though it's been passed on to me through my mother, who married into the Gremory family. It's the most potent and destructive offensive magic that a Devil can use."</p><p>"Alright," I reply. "Show me then."</p><p>She nods and faces the cliffside. Magic power gathers around her and she thrusts her hands forward, unleashing a torrent of red and black crackling energy that crashes into the wall. She only holds it for a second and by the time the stream stops, the wall has been dug into by about a foot in a large roughly circular patch.</p><p>I check her MP. That took just under a fifth of it. For an attack of that strength, that's really not very good.</p><p>"As I thought," I say out loud with a sigh. "Tell me, how much control do you have over the shape of it?"</p><p>"Theoretically, I have total control over it," she answers. "And in reality, I have a fair bit. Why?"</p><p>"Because this," I say, waving a hand at the rock wall. "This is wasteful. Unless you're fighting an enemy this big, most of your energy is doing nothing except making it harder to dodge. Which isn't the worst thing, there's an advantage to spending energy to make sure the attack hits. But there are better ways to go about it.</p><p>"For example. If you wanted to hit that big of an area to make sure they can't dodge, instead of hitting every single square inch, launching an array of softball-sized attacks spread out with a bit less than a foot between each of them should get you the same coverage and still hit the enemy while using less than half of the energy. It'll hit them less, but if the power is potent enough, that won't matter. A hole through their chest, arm, and leg will slow them enough for you to land a more definitive hit. Not every hit needs to be a kill shot.</p><p>"But against Riser-," she starts, but I cut her off.</p><p>"This isn't just anti-Riser training," I say. "We'll have a special strategy in mind for him. I have a few ideas, and none of them rely on the Power of Destruction. We'll discuss them during the strategy talks after dinner." She frowns, but nods. "Now, if you're going to specialize in the Power of Destruction for your offensive magic, here's what I think you should do."</p><p>"When it comes to your spells and making sure they hit, there are several basic parameters to focus on. Projectile size, projectile speed, projectile control, coverage, potency, and cost. How big are your projectiles, how fast do they go, what degree of control you have over them after you've cast the spell, how large of an area does it cover, how powerful is each projectile, and how much energy did it cost you.</p><p>"So keeping those in mind, and keeping in mind that there's no single attack that is perfect for every situation, we're going to have you focus on five different attacks, and then learning when to use each one. To make them easier to understand, I'll use guns as a metaphor for them. Rifle, Gatling, Scattershot, Missile, and Beam. For now, those will be the main attacks you use.</p><p>"Rifle is used for probing shots, when an enemy is weak enough that you only need a single attack to finish them off, or when you're trying to conserve your energy. You'll condense the Power of Destruction into a single attack and fire it at an enemy. For this attack, you'll want to focus on projectile speed, potency, and cost. This one will actually be one of your more flexible attacks, as you can scale the potency up and down. You should also keep the projectile as small and condensed as possible."</p><p>"Like this?" she asks. She raises a hand, pointer finger extended at the wall, and a softball-sized orb of Destruction appears. She fires it off, and it streaks to the rock wall and tears a good chunk out of it.</p><p>"Precisely," I confirm. "Experiment with different sizes and strengths, but I mostly want you to focus on making it travel as fast as possible."</p><p>She mulls over that, nodding slowly. "Okay. What about the others?"</p><p>"The others build off of that one," I say. "For today, just focus on your Destruction Rifle."</p><p>I feel a small spike of happiness come from her at the name and she smiles a little. That's right, she's a big anime fan, isn't she? 'Destruction Rifle' certainly verges on being an anime-like attack name. I'll have to look up anime on my phone later, see what series exist here and which don't. I've seen advertisements for and productions of a few familiar ones while out shopping, but I don't want to bring up any that just don't exist. But talking anime with Rias could score me easy Affection points.</p><p>She gets started blasting the wall with single shots of varying strength, and I give her tips and guide her to doing better. Hopefully, by the end of the training, Rias will be a master with her power.</p><hr/><p>After spending time helping Rias, I look around for Akeno. I find her in a small area near a pond, shooting flying targets above the water with different kinds of elemental spells.</p><p>"What are those targets?" I ask her, making sure to make noise as I approach so I don't surprise her.</p><p>"They're standard training equipment for Devils," she says. "Rias brought a number of them with us. I gave a few to Aika as well."</p><p>"Thank you," I say. "I'm guessing Rias doesn't use them because the Power of Destruction is a bit hard on them?"</p><p>"They can take a few hits of it, but not many," Akeno replies as she blasts one of them with a bolt of lightning. "They stand up much better to most other kinds of magic though." She turns to me, hands on her hips as she looks at me with a teasing smile. "So what does the great teacher Axton have to teach me?"</p><p>"Not much actually," I admit with a shrug. "You're already skilled at your magic and I don't know enough about that kind of elemental magic to give any pointers. So instead, we'll just spar." With those words, I pull out the Game Board I got from the gacha earlier. It's not much to look at. It's a small box, roughly the size of a shoebox, but more square, made out of wood and carved. On top of it are five clear gems laid out in a circle.</p><p>When I was preparing breakfast earlier, I put the Game Board outside and had it copy the area into one of its slots. One of the gems turned from clear to a swirling mix of green and grey.</p><p>"What's that?" Akeno asks.</p><p>"Devils create arenas for their rating games based on real locations, right?"</p><p>"Sort of," she answers. "There's one arena that is used for official Rating Games that can be modeled after a real-world location, or like anything they want. There are smaller, temporary versions, but they're tricky to make though, and cost a lot of energy."</p><p>"Well this can do exactly that for free," I say, and I push the grey and green button. We teleport, moving from near the pond to seemingly back at the resort. But the atmosphere is off. There's less wind, and things are much quieter.</p><p>"You should really give a girl more warning before you teleport her," she chides me before looking around. "Though this is indeed pretty similar in feeling to the Rating Game arena.</p><p>"Since your magic is plenty good already, what we need to focus on is combat experience," I say. "As Rias's Queen, you'll face a lot of powerful opponents, so the more experience you have, the better. And in here, we can go all out, without worrying about others or making a mess."</p><p>"So you've taken me to a place where it's just the two of us so we can get wild and make a mess?" she asks with a teasing grin. "Oh Axton, you're so bold~"</p><p>"I aim to please," I reply with a wink, but, reluctantly, I stop the flirting there. Instead, I activate [Void Drain], coating my hands in inky Void. "Your goal is to not let me touch you. I won't be attacking you back, except to try to touch you."</p><p>She raises an eyebrow, still teasing. "Cocky, aren't you? And trying to feel me up. I thought better of you Axton."</p><p>"Well, we'll see how you feel about me at the end of it," I say with a smirk. I take a step sideways and disappear, using [Void Travel] to reappear silently behind her, and my hands grab her waist, slowly draining her stamina. "Be careful though," I say into her ear. "My touch will make you weak in the knees."</p><p>"You-!" she says in shock, twisting out of my grasp. Her wings appear and she immediately takes to the sky.</p><p>"Good response!" I praise. She sends a small fireball at me, but it's slow and weak and I easily block it with my hand, absorbing nearly all of the magic and fire. "But you're going to need more than that!"</p><p>She responds with a firestorm and I laugh and dash away, my natural DEX being enough to outrun her attacks. With that, the fight is on.</p><hr/><p>"Tell me about your Sacred Gear," I ask Kiba. After my spar with Akeno, we exited the arena and I had her go do some light sparring with Rias, with both focusing on low strength attacks and trying to dodge the other's attacks. Then I went to find Kiba, who I found a slight distance away swinging a heavy-looking sword around.</p><p>"Sword Birth allows me to create any demonic sword I can imagine," he says.</p><p>"And how good is your imagination?" I ask him.</p><p>He looks surprised at the question. "Pardon?"</p><p>"Show me all the swords you've made before," I tell him. He still looks confused, but he does so.</p><p>One by one, different kinds of swords thudded into the soft ground, point first. But as it reaches a dozen, no more come, and I sigh. Four training swords made of wood, the heavy stone sword he was using before for strength training, four steel swords, and three magic swords.</p><p>"This is it?" I ask him.</p><p>For the first time since I've met him, he looks annoyed. "This is all I need," he replies.</p><p>"It's really not," I deny. I look at the steel swords. A katana, a longsword, a greatsword, and a more fantasy looking great sword that looks far heavier. Comparatively, the more magical swords stick out. Two of them were just hilts with magical effects in place of the blade, and the other was a fanciful saber made of red and orange materials.</p><p>"First off, I see that you're willing to go the jack of all trades route and not just focus on one type of blade to get better at," I point out.</p><p>"Of course," he says. "Every type of sword has its place where it shines, and with Sword Birth, limiting myself to just one type would be foolish. And there's no way I could settle on just one type."</p><p>"So why aren't there more swords in front of me?" I ask. "Because what I see in front of me does <em>not </em>cover all of your bases."</p><p>He frowns. "Do they not?"</p><p>"They do not," I answer. "First, don't bother with the heavy swords. You're a Knight, focus on speed unless you really need to reach. If you need reach, stick with something like a nodachi. You don't need a sword with a lot of weight behind it, focus on making it as sharp as you can instead. Thankfully, this still leaves plenty of different kinds of swords for you to work with. Sabers, short swords, rapiers, longswords, katanas, and swords like that. Always remember where each one shines and pick the best one. Use your phone to look up different kinds of swords used by different places around the world and why they used them. Greece, China, Japan, Europe, and Africa all are good places to start."</p><p>"You know a lot about swords," Kiba comments.</p><p>"I just think they're neat," I say. "So I've done my research. Something you should have done already. But it's never too late. Most of the time you probably will be using the same few types of swords as you'll mostly be fighting humanoid opponents. But sometimes you'll need to counter someone else's weapon type, and you never know what kind of sword will come in use then."</p><p>"I see your point," he admits.</p><p>"Second thing," I say before he gets wrapped up in his thoughts. "Those three are obviously magical, what do they do?"</p><p>"Flame Delete absorbs fire and neutralizes it," he says, indicating one of the bladeless hilts with ice forming on it. "While Fire Sword is made of fire and attacks with heat. Then Repression Calm absorbs wind."</p><p>"Let me guess," I say. "You already had the Fire Sword, and when you learned about the troubles Rias was having with Riser, you made the other two to counter the two types of magic his family is known for."</p><p>"Exactly," he says with a proud smile.</p><p>"So why did you stop there?" I ask, knocking the smile off of his face. "Why didn't you then make a sword made of air? Or water? Or one that absorbs water? One to counter and to use every single element you could think of?"</p><p>He blinks. "I- I didn't think of it," he says with a slight stammer.</p><p>"I can tell," I say. "Tell me Kiba, what goal are you chasing? What is it you study the sword for?"</p><p>His mood instantly sours, and his hands ball into fists.</p><p>"I have something I must do," he says. "I have to avenge my friends."</p><p>"I see," I say, making sure to make my own tone sympathetic. "I won't pry on what happened to them, but if that's the case, it's even more important that I ask you this." He looks up, anger still in his eyes, but it's not directed at me. "How?"</p><p>The anger is quickly replaced with confusion. "I don't understand what you mean?"</p><p>"If you seek vengeance, then what's your plan to get there?" I ask him, my voice serious and devoid of emotion. "Why haven't you done it already? What are your plans for overcoming the obstacles between you and your vengeance?"</p><p>"I just need to get stronger," he says, unsure.</p><p>"And what's your plan for how you're going to achieve that?" I ask.</p><p>"I…" he trails off. "I don't really have one. Fulfilling contracts as a Devil makes me stronger, as does my training."</p><p>"Those are passive, routine things," I say. "There's your problem right there though. You focus too much on the goal, the final objective. But you need to pay attention to the path to get to that goal as well. Don't just think 'I have to win this battle'. Think 'How am I going to win this battle?' and make it a reality. Don't envision just the goal, but every step of the path to that goal. Or else you'll end up mindlessly charging through obstacles as you beeline for the goal when you could just step around them. You need to <em>think</em> more about the present, and how to get to the future you want."</p><p>Kiba is quiet and contemplative. "I see," he says after a while. "You are right. I either get caught up in what I'm doing right now or I tunnel vision on a goal and act reflexively." He looks up at me. "Thank you, Axton. I needed to hear that."</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Yuuto Kiba</strong>
</p><p>"That's what I'm here for," I say. I grab the steel longsword and buff it with [Void Edge]. "Now, the two of us are going to spar, and I want you to only use elemental magic swords. Every now and then, I'll destroy your sword, and at that time I want you to quickly make a new sword using either a different element or using an element you've already used differently. And I don't want to see any repeats."</p><p>"Yes, Axton!" He says enthusiastically as all of the swords but the Fire Sword and the one I hold disappear. He rushes at with the Fire Sword raised and our sparring session begins.</p><hr/><p>Almost an hour and over two dozen broken swords later, I leave Kiba to experiment with different applications of different elements and move on to the next person, Koneko. She's easy to find, I just have to head towards the sound of crashing rocks</p><p>I find her away from the trees juggling boulders larger than herself. As I approach her, I see her throw one in the air just in time to catch another one before it hit the ground, grunting with the weight of it. But she doesn't waste any time and throws that one in the air as well before dashing to catch a third.</p><p>This actually isn't my training method. I simply told her to do something to train her endurance, strength, and skill. Honestly, I wasn't sure what kind of training she could do by herself with the equipment we have, but it seems like she managed to get creative.</p><p>I watch her for a few minutes, not wanting to interrupt, and during one of her dashes I notice her finally see me. The next rock she catches she then drops onto the ground, and then does the same for the other two, before turning to me.</p><p>"Strength, control, stamina, and coordination," I comment. "You did a good job coming up with something. How's it going?"</p><p>She smiles just a little at my praise. "Good. I don't drop them as much anymore. Figured out the right height to throw them."</p><p>"I'm glad it's working then," I say. "Take a break from that for now. You and I are going to spar instead. Hand to hand. As a Rook, you don't need to fancy training or tricks. You just need to be sturdy and reliable."</p><p>She nods, taking a stance, but I hold up a hand. "I have a magic item that will put us into a copy of this place, that way we can fight without worry about making a mess. If that's fine with you?"</p><p>She pauses but then nods. I pull out the Game Board and pull us both into the same copy of this place I pulled Akeno into. All the traces of my fight with Akeno have disappeared</p><p>I turn to Koneko. "Now come on, hit me with everything you've got."</p><p>She looks unsure, but she lunges at me, swinging. It's slow, too slow. I calmly sidestep her attack, grab her by the arm, and swing her 360 degrees before launching her straight into a tree. The tree cracks when she hits it but doesn't fall and a small noise of pain escapes her lips as she falls to the ground.</p><p>I wince slightly. "I don't want to hurt you Koneko," I say. "But you're tough, I know you can take it, and you'll be hurt a lot worse in the future, in real fights." I check her HP with [Observe]. Good, not very much was actually missing, and already it was starting to heal thanks to Overflowing Health. "Better you get used to it now. But I need you to come at me with everything you have. I'm stronger than you think I am, as that throw should have demonstrated."</p><p>She nods and stands back up with a determined look on her face. Good.</p><p>"Tell you what," I say. "How about a little bit of encouragement?" She perks up a little, interested. "If you impress me, I'll make you something special for dessert tonight."</p><p>I can practically see the flames that light up her eyes and she launches herself at me, over twice as fast as last time. I laugh out loud at her sudden enthusiasm and brace myself to receive her.</p><hr/><p>"Did I do good enough for dessert?" Koneko asks as we exit the Game Board.</p><p>"Yep," I confirm with a pat on her head. "You did great. Especially at the end. Though if you want my super mega amazing dessert, you'll have to beat me first,"</p><p>Her eyes widen at the mention of an even higher form of dessert, and she brings her hands up in a determined fashion. "I'll do it," she promises.</p><p>I chuckle. "Good. But for now, go spar with Kiba. Focus on using that skill I taught you. And tell him to use non-magic swords but to try as many different ones as he can." She nods and dashes off into the forest, heading for where Kiba is.</p><p>Partway through our sparring, she noticed I was doing something weird. That something weird was me taking the chance to level up [Iron Body] some. I ended up teaching it to her as well since it's a useful skill for a Rook.</p><p>Next, I track down Atsuko. Which takes a little more effort because her goal has been to just do laps to try to train her stamina as much as possible. I find her a sweaty mess, pushing herself to climb the steep paths of the mountain.</p><p>"Why don't you take a break?" I tell her as a teleport next to her.</p><p>She leaps away at my sudden appearance before realizing who I am. "Ugh. Axtoooooon," she complains. "Don't scare me like that. My heart's already beating fast enough."</p><p>I laugh. "Sorry about that," I apologize. I take a bottle of water out of my inventory, still cold, and throw it to her. "Here, cool off a bit."</p><p>"Thanks, Axton," she says as she opens it before guzzling the water. She drinks about two-thirds of it before dumping the rest of it over her head. Unfortunately for me, she's wearing dark water-resistant exercise gear, so no transparent wet clothes cliche for me. Oh well.</p><p>Out of curiosity, I use [Observe] on Atsuko to see if her training has paid off at all. And to my surprise, it has. I almost miss it, because her stats don't show it, but her max SP has gone up just a little bit. Interesting. I guess stuff like that can be trained. That makes sense. Asia's MP is a lot higher than a normal person despite being a mundane human. It can't be based purely on racial modifiers.</p><p>"After you've rested up a bit, we're gonna spend some time practicing with your Sacred Gear and sparring," I tell her.</p><p>"I can finally use it?" she asks tiredly. "This running would be so much easier if you let me activate it."</p><p>"That would defeat the purpose," I say. "You can't get better if you don't work hard for it. That's why I said to take off the ring too, that'd help too much. Trust me, it's already paying off. It's small, but you've already improved."</p><p>She frowns. "Really? I don't feel very different."</p><p>I shrug. "Okay, so it's a <em>very</em> small improvement. Less than one percent. But for only a few hours of running that's pretty good."</p><p>She slumps. "Ugh, I think you mean four hours of hell," she complains.</p><p>"Well you're a Devil now, you should feel comfortable in hell," I joke. Her only response is to throw the now empty water bottle at my face. I let it bounce off, catching it and stashing it in my inventory. "Sorry, that's just how it is. For your sins of becoming a Devil, you must face eternal <em>pun</em>-ishment."</p><p>"Axtoooooooon," she groans, causing me to laugh.</p><p>"Alright alright, I'll lay off for now," I say. I pull the Game Board out of my inventory. "I'm gonna use this item to bring us to a place where we can train, okay?" She looks confused, but she nods. I push the button to bring us into the Game Board.</p><p>She looks around. "We're back at the cabin?" she says, confused.</p><p>"It's a mirror world," I say. "A copy of the resort and the area around it, but we can go wild and not worry about stuff getting broken."</p><p>"Oh okay," she says, accepting the explanation. I was counting on that. I assume she watches enough anime to be vaguely familiar with the concept. "So you're gonna let me use as many boosts as I can?"</p><p>"I might stop you if it looks like you're going to use more than is safe, but yeah, that's the idea," I answer. "Go ahead and put the Cloranthy ring back on and call it out."</p><p>"Okay!" she says, previous fatigue gone. She quickly slips the ring, which was stored in her pocket, back on and then raises her hand in the air.</p><p>"<em><strong>BOOST!</strong></em>"</p><p>I keep an eye on her stats with [Observe] as she activates her power. Even with just one boost, she's become the strongest Devil in Rias's peerage, though some of them have a stat or two that they specialize in that are higher than hers. That's mostly because of me. Leveling up in my party seems to give more stat points per level than leveling up outside of it. Atsuko has gained 46 levels while in my party, compared to the much smaller eleven levels Rias has gained. And doubling Atsuko's level puts her at a higher level than Kiba and Koneko, so it makes sense that her double stats would be higher as well.</p><p>"<em><strong>BOOST!</strong></em>"</p><p>Exactly ten seconds later and her stats increase again. Her base stats are all at roughly 100 so each boost is pushing her up 100 points. Now she's definitely far stronger than anyone else in her Peerage. I nod at her to keep going, and she does. Though in this case, that just means she does nothing and stands there for eight more seconds. We found that she can stop it at whatever point she wants, but by default, it will keep going.</p><p>"<em><strong>BOOST!</strong></em>"</p><p>Three boosts and still no noticeable drain on her SP. That means the passive cost is low enough for her to bear it easily enough. If she starts exerting herself, those costs might add up, as it seems it multiplies the SP costs of her actions as well. Still, we'll see what her passive limit is before we figure out what's practical.</p><p>"<em><strong>BOOST!</strong></em>"</p><p>Four boosts and her stats are starting to approach mine. Her CHA and LUK are already above mine even, but that's what I'd expect from a protagonist to be honest, especially in a harem anime.</p><p>"<em><strong>BOOST!</strong></em>"</p><p>Five boosts and now her CON is higher than mine, and her STR is getting close. Surprisingly, her SP isn't going down either. That's amazing. Even without true exponential growth, just a bit of training and a magic item has made her several times stronger than Riser. And no temporary Balance Breaker needed here. I wonder how much further she can go.</p><p>But as fifteen seconds pass, I realize the answer is that she can't go any further. Not now at least. A hard cap on the number of times she can boost then? Is that based on one of her stats maybe? It'd have to be CON or STR, right?</p><p>Well, either way, I can work with this. This is perfect actually because she's still a little weaker than me, so we can train more effectively.</p><p>"Looks like that's it," I say. "How do you feel?"</p><p>"Hmm," she muses while she hops from one foot to another and shakes her arms. "Maybe a little lighter?"</p><p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 54[39%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,090 (1,860 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 2,880 (86 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3,141 (1,955 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 618<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 624<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 612<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 576<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 582<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 882<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 732</strong></p><p>"Is that so," I respond. "You feel up to a bit of a spar?"</p><p>She frowns. "Like, fighting? Against you?"</p><p>"We'll just use our bare hands," I say. "You may not feel it, but you're a lot stronger right now. I'm not sure your ax could keep up with your strength. But you're still not as strong as me, so it'll be fine."</p><p>"If you say so," she says, a little unsure, but she looks ready to go.</p><p>"I do," I reply. "Now, use your Iron Body technique I showed you whenever I'm about to hit you, okay? The more you practice that while getting hit, the more it'll improve."</p><p>"Got it," she says with a nod as she takes a fighting stance. It's a little sloppy, but she probably copied it from some anime or something.</p><p>I take a casual pose, my arms spread. "Well, come on then," I egg her on. "It's your move."</p><p>She narrows her eyes and lunges at me. She's fast, as fast as Freed was when wielding Excalibur Rapidly. But I've improved since fighting Freed, and I dodge out of her way easily. She growls as she whips past me, going far beyond where she was aiming at and having to scramble to turn around.</p><p>The first few minutes are spent like that. I focus on dodging as I watch her slowly improve her control over her new level of strength while keeping an eye on her SP. It dips down below max often, but never for long. It seems her regen with the Cloranthy ring is more than enough to keep her topped up even at five boosts.</p><p>Eventually, though, I attack back, making sure to clearly telegraph my attack. I see her eyes widen and just in time she manages to tense up before I blast her backward with my attack. I watch her HP and confirm it doesn't go down, meaning [Iron Body] activated before I hit her. Even with her low level in the skill, with this many boosts, the skill is really powerful, huh?</p><p>After that, the fight gets a lot more hectic. I start letting her land a few hits just so I can train [Iron Body] some, and I make sure to get plenty of my own in. I telegraph my attacks less and less until she finally can react almost instantly to my attacks.</p><p>Trees are felled and the cabin is torn to shreds in our battle. But even as things heat up, I can see equal parts joy and frustration in her eyes as we fight. The joy has been pretty consistent since a few minutes into the fight, and I take it to mean she's having fun. The frustration has been building up slowly though, and it spikes up whenever I block a hit from her with [Iron Body] or just dodge.</p><p>Her frustration continues to build up until another callout rings through the air.</p><p>"<em><strong>EXPLOSION!</strong></em>"</p><p>Wait, that's not- I dodge frantically to the side as Atsuko suddenly speeds up. Eyes wide, I use [Observe] on her.</p><p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 54[39%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,090 (1,860 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 2,880 (86 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 3,141 (1,955 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 1,133<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 1,144<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 1,122<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1,056<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1,067<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 1,617<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 1,342</strong></p><p>What the fuck? Her stats suddenly doubled. But her SP is dropping at an insane pace.</p><p>But there's no more time to think as she's on me again. I activate [Void Blood] and [Iron Body] and tank all of her hits, waiting for her to exhaust herself.</p><p>Thankfully, it doesn't take long. Less than ten seconds later her SP hits roughly five percent and another callout rings through the air.</p><p>"<em><strong>RESET</strong></em>"</p><p>She slumps like a puppet whose strings had been cut and collapses to the ground, breathing hard. I deactivate my skills and rush over to her.</p><p>"Atsuko!" I call out as I pick her up to hold her, "Are you okay?" [Observe] says she is, but it was scary seeing her collapse like that. And her SP is coming back slowly, slower than it should be.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine," she says, out of breath. "Just...tired. I don't know what just happened but it wore me out. I feel worse than I did after that one time I ran so hard I puked."</p><p>I breathe a sigh of relief. She sounds like she's doing okay. "I think you unlocked another aspect of your Sacred Gear," I tell her, remembering something about an 'Explosion' ability from the anime. "Sacred Gears at least partially respond to the desires of their users, and can evolve differently for each of them."</p><p>"I really wanted to beat you," she mumbles tiredly. "Didn't you say you were some kind of mage thief? It's not fair that you're stronger than me after I boost so many times."</p><p>I smile. "Only a little stronger than you, and that's because I'm such a high 'level' compared to you. By the time we're done training, you'll be stronger than me when you're using your Boosted Gear for sure." I pause. "Well, when I'm not using my secret technique that is."</p><p>She groans. "Of course you have some sort of secret technique. You're like some cliche shounen protagonist."</p><p>I chuckle at the irony of her saying that, but I don't comment. Instead, I just pick her up and bring both of us out of the Game Board. She startles a little when I do so, but she doesn't protest.</p><p>I [Void Travel] the both of us back to in front of the cabin and set her down on one of the tables out front. "You rest here for a little while, okay? That Explosion ability of yours made you a lot stronger, stronger than me even, but it looks like it takes a pretty heavy toll on your body. So I want you to rest here for at least an hour, okay?" Her SP will probably refill in less than ten minutes, but I want to be sure. I place a couple water bottles on the table next to her as well.</p><p>"Okay Axton," she answers, still a little out of breath.</p><p>I pause and then lean down and kiss her deeply on the lips. No tongue, but I hold the kiss, enjoying the feeling of her soft and warm lips on my own. She's a little surprised at first but quickly leans into it.</p><p>A few moments later, I pull back, and she's definitely breathing hard again. "You did a good job today," I tell her. "I'm proud of you."</p><p>She blushes at the sudden praise, and before she can respond I give her a wink and then [Void Travel] away to go find Aika.</p><hr/><p>I can't help but appreciate my Game Board and how useful it is as I enter it with Aika. It's an easy, free, secure, and convenient training ground.</p><p>As we appear in front of the mirror cabin, I turn to Aika. "The rules for this are simple," I say. "I'm going to try to approach you and touch you, and you have to prevent me from doing so. If you hit me with your Dark Missile spell, I'll back off for ten seconds per missile you've hit me with."</p><p>She frowns. "Are you sure it's safe? I don't want to hurt you."</p><p>I laugh, causing her to frown harder. "It's a little too early for you to be worried about that," I tell her. "We'll start by seeing if you can even hit me." Before she can react, I quickly dash behind her and reach up her shirt so I can place my hands on her bare skin, activating [Touch of Pleasure] at full power as I do so.</p><p>She yelps in surprise but it quickly turns into a moan. "Axton- what?" she asks, pushing down her pleasure.</p><p>"This is how it's going to go," I tell her. "Every time I touch you it'll make you more aroused. If you manage to hit me even once, I'll give you some 'relief' later. But if you don't hit me with one of your spells within an hour, you'll have to try again tomorrow. To make it fairer, I won't use any of my spells or skills."</p><p>I see her staff shift slightly as she tightens her grip on it and I back off as a bolt of darkness rushes past the spot I just was. Aika turns to me, a smile on her face but determination in her eyes. "I didn't know you were into denial play Axton," she teases even as she sends another dart of shadow at me.</p><p>"Oh you know, I just thought it'd be fun to try out," I answer casually as I sidestep the projectile. "Variety is the spice of life and all that." As she sends another missile at me, this one curving slightly in the air, I rush her, ducking under it and reaching her. She scrambles backward, but once again my hands find her thighs and caress them, driving up her arousal. "Besides, I figured this method would properly motivate you," I tease.</p><p>She dashes back and sends two missiles at me this time. "I'll show you proper motivation all right," she calls out, but I just grin. That's the first time I've seen her cast two missiles at the same time. They're smaller than her normal ones, but less than two minutes in and she's already doing new things. Proper motivation indeed.</p><hr/><p>"Go ahead and rest up for a bit," I tell Aika and I give her a kiss. "Read your grimoire, and practice that invisibility spell I taught you. Find something that'll help you out tomorrow." Unfortunately for her, she failed to hit me even once, despite how quickly she was spamming tiny darts of dark shadow at me.</p><p>"You were serious about that, huh?" Aika asks, pouting.</p><p>"We've got six more days of training," I tell her as I pat her on the head. "It wouldn't do for me to go back on what I said already. Not when it worked out so well today."</p><p>She sighs. "I guess," she admits. She looks up at me. "Can I give you a blowjob at least? I'm so horny I need <em>something</em>."</p><p>"As tempting as the offer is, I need to go help out Asia with her training," I say.</p><p>"How are things going with her anyway?" Aika asks. "You've been taking things really slow with her."</p><p>"I've been laying the groundwork," I answer. "She's a pretty innocent girl, but she's absolutely smitten with me. I've been trying to get her to realize that physical intimacy is okay and good and just a way to express love."</p><p>"You really do love all of us, huh?" Aika says in a soft voice.</p><p>"Of course," I assert. "I won't say I love every girl I've slept with, but those of you I call my girlfriends are more than just ways to satisfy my lust. Sure, I definitely do that too. But I care for each of you, and I'd do anything for you guys."</p><p>She smiles, and it's probably the purest smile I've seen from her. "I knew that I think. But it's nice to hear."</p><p>I smile back and kiss her on the forehead. "Then I'm glad I said it," I tell her. "But for now, study and train. There are trials ahead of us, and I want you to be ready to kick their asses."</p><p>She smiles. "Got it, boss," she replies. "And don't worry about Asia. I'll figure out something to help speed things along."</p><p>"I look forward to it," I tell her. I [Void Travel] away, leaving Aika to it as I go to where Asia is training. She's in a clearing not too far away from the cabin, and around her are glowing barriers of light.</p><p>"So they don't have to be attached to a person then?" I ask her, and she jumps in surprise. I note that the barriers stay in place though.</p><p>"Axton!" she yelps. "Sorry, you surprised me."</p><p>"My bad," I say. "You figured out some new tricks?"</p><p>She nods. "It's easier to attach them to a person, but I can do it like this too. But once I make them, I can't change them at all. Only remove them." She waves her hand and one of the barriers disappears.</p><p>"This could be pretty helpful in the dungeons," I say. "Controlling where enemies can and can't go is important, you just have to be careful about placing them too close to allies."</p><p>"I guess," she says without any enthusiasm before shaking her head and then facing me with a determined look. "No, I've decided. I want to learn how to fight."</p><p>"Are you sure?" I ask her. "You don't have to. Being purely a healer is more than enough."</p><p>"I want to," she insists. "I'm tired of always being so passive. I always just let things happen to me and bear with them. I want to be the one to decide my fate though."</p><p>I pull her into a hug. "Alright then. I'll start training you to fight better then." I let her go and step back. "Wasn't there an offensive miracle in that book I gave you?"</p><p>"Yeah but...it's hard," she says. "I've been trying it, but I can't quite figure it out. That's why I switched to doing the barriers."</p><p>"Well, keep working away at it in your free time," I encourage her. "But for now, choose. Sword or gun?" I pull out a Light Gun and a Light Sword.</p><p>She looks at them, thinking. "Can I try out both?" she asks, tentatively.</p><p>"Both is an excellent idea," I say, and I hand them both to her. She takes the Light Sword in her right hand and the Light Gun in her left. "The sword is more energy-efficient but more difficult to use and it has a much shorter range. The gun takes a lot of energy and some amount of skill, but it's strong at long ranges. You can figure out which you would prefer, or if you'd rather pick both and cover all of your options."</p><p>She nods and activates the sword. A blade of light appears, almost like a lightsaber. I step back from her and pull out a rapier from my inventory. She looks nervous.</p><p>"Are we going to fight?" she asks, unsure.</p><p>"Spar," I correct her. "And no. Not yet. I'm afraid I'm not a very good sword teacher. I know a lot about swords, but not much about using them. So for now, I want you to try to hit me with the light sword."</p><p>"But what if I hurt you?" she says.</p><p>"That's what using a weapon means Asia, an intention to hurt the other person," I reply a little harshly. "It's necessary at times to protect the ones you care about or prevent something worse from happening."</p><p>"But I don't want to hurt <em>you</em>," she protests.</p><p>"It's fine," I reassure her. "You know how tough I am, I can take some scratches. And you can always heal me up right afterward." I hold my sword up. "Besides, that's assuming you <em>can</em> hit me. And I'm not gonna make it easy on you."</p><p>That last point seems to reassure her the most and she nods. She takes a deep breath and gets into a stance. Like Atsuko, it's sloppy, but I don't really know how to correct her. I'll have to look into finding a sword trainer or something.</p><p>With a final reassuring nod from me, she timidly approaches me, swinging her light sword at me. No, not at me. Directly at my blade. So I don't move, and the light sword bounces off of my iron rapier. It seems that despite its looks, it's a physical blade, and certainly not one with the cutting power of a lightsaber.</p><p>She looks surprised when I don't move but I still block her swing before her expression shifts to sheepish when she realizes what she did. She swings again, and this one actually has a chance of hitting my arm...maybe. I take a small step back, moving out of its way.</p><p>We continue like this for a while, with her making sloppy swings at me and me blocking and dodging them. Eventually, she does seem to start putting her heart into it, and she actually tries to hit me. Her attacks would be more than just scratches if they hit me, though she doesn't go for anything lethal.</p><p>So I decide to take a risk. I don't dodge far enough for one of her swings, and let her blade cut into my forearm. It hurts, but it barely registers. [Void Blood] hurt far more to train, and no other kind of pain I felt really compared to the feeling of that skill backfiring.</p><p>Asia instantly freaks out. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry here let me get that hold still oh no I'm sorry I'm so sorry-"</p><p>"Calm down Asia," I cut her off, holding a hand up. "It's fine. This is part of training, and it barely hurts. See, it's already healing up." Sure enough, as I held out the wound for her to see and it's rapidly closing as my absurd HP regen heals me.</p><p>She hesitates. "You're not mad that I hurt you?"</p><p>"If anything, I'm glad," I tell her. "It means you're taking this seriously. As shitty and cruel as it sounds, if you want to fight, you'll have to get used to hurting others. To protect the people you love, it's worth it."</p><p>"O-okay," she says, obviously nervous. "I think I'm done with the sword for today though."</p><p>"That's fine," I say, not willing to push her right now. "You made some great improvements. Why don't we work on the gun now then? I'll go grab some targets and we can work on your aim a little."</p><p>After grabbing a few of the targets that Akeno left behind when she started her spar with Rias, Asia and I spend some time shooting those. Asia's aim isn't terrible, and it helps that the Light Gun doesn't have any kickback, but by the end of our one on one time it still isn't good enough for her to use it in the dungeons.</p><p>When her MP starts getting low, I decide to call it there. The sun is starting to set now, and it won't be long until night fell. "Why don't you take a break, study your grimoire a bit? I have one last thing to do and then I'm gonna start making dinner."</p><p>"Umm, actually Axton, can I ask you something?" she says, and I can feel the nervousness coming off of her with [Empathy].</p><p>"Sure, what's up?" I ask her, trying to be as casual as possible while wondering what would have her so nervous.</p><p>She fidgets, but I feel a mess of fear and disappointment come from her as she sighs. "Nevermind," she says. "It's nothing."</p><p>Was that almost a confession? That's adorable, I love her. Too bad she chickened out, but this is still great progress. Still, for her sake, I feign ignorance. "You sure?" I ask, and she nods. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in the cabin preparing dinner, okay?" She nods again, and I leave her.</p><p>I'll have to tell Aika about this soon, so she can factor it into whatever plans she comes up with.</p><p>I send a Doppelganger to go start dinner, but I have one quick stop to make first. My [Mentor] skill is almost maxed out, and while going over skills I could teach to people, I realized an important thing.</p><p>My Void related skills are off the table for just about everyone, but there is someone who I should be able to teach them to. Yua. As my familiar, she has a connection to my soul, and some of the Void carries over. I know this because her mana can't be sensed by others either. And now that [Mentor] is at a higher level, I can teach her more skills, and there are two that are perfect for her.</p><p>I find her lounging inside the cabin, absorbing the heat from a sunbeam coming from the setting sun. I smile as I watch her snooze. She's definitely gotten bigger since I got her, and she's honestly adorable. I don't have much time until my Doppelganger expires though, so I gently interrupt her sleep by poking her.</p><p>"Hmm?" she says sleepily as she gets up. "Oh, hi Papa!"</p><p>"Hey Yua," I greet her with a head scratch. "So you know how Papa can teach you different kinds of skills?"</p><p>"Yua can hang upside down from the ceiling!" She exclaims.</p><p>I smile. "Yep, just like that. Well, I've got two special skills I'm going to teach you now." Using [Mentor], I give her both [Void Sight] and [Void Travel].</p><p>"The first one lets you see anywhere you've seen before, and anywhere near there," I tell her. "Try looking back home from here."</p><p>She sits up straight and there's a pause as she activates the skill. "Ooh!" she suddenly yells. "Yua can do it! Yua sees home!"</p><p>"Good job," I praise her. "And the other one lets you teleport like I can. Try taking a step and going home now."</p><p>She immediately jumps to her feet and takes a step, vanishing without a trace or a ripple, like she just stepped behind a curtain that isn't there. Huh, so that's what it looks like when I teleport. Neat. My own use of [Void Sight] confirms she made it to my apartment and is currently running around there a bit. After a moment, she teleports back to in front of me.</p><p>"Yua did it!" she exclaims. "Yua appeared back home!"</p><p>"I saw," I tell her. "Now, do you want to know why I taught you these skills?"</p><p>She cocks her head. "So Yua can help more when hunting?"</p><p>I shake my head. "Nope. Well. Yes, they'll be helpful then too. But there's something more important. Remember what you said you wanted to do?"</p><p>She pauses and thinks for a moment. "Save kittens that are alone like Yua was?"</p><p>I nod. "Yep. Now you can look for them without having to actually travel around, and when you find them, you can teleport straight to them and then teleport them to somewhere safe."</p><p>She goes still. "Really?" she asks. "Yua can do all that?"</p><p>"Whenever you want," I tell her. "I can't take care of all the kittens you find, but I'll show you some places you can bring them where other people will help find them homes, and if you find someone who wants a kitten you can just bring them to that person as well."</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Yua<br/>Evolution Stone added to the inventory for reaching 100 Affection with Yua<br/>Familiar Stone added to the inventory for reaching 100 Affection with a Familiar<br/>Familiars can now be granted access to your Inventory</strong>
</p><p>Another Familiar Stone is appreciated, I was wondering how I was going to get another one, but what's an evolution stone? I pull it out of my inventory as Yua jumps around in joy and excitement.</p><p>
  <strong>Evolution Stone<br/>Use on a Familiar that has reached their level cap to upgrade their race</strong>
</p><p>Interesting. I was going to use a Race Change Potion on her once I had experimented with it a little, but perhaps taking this route would be better. At the very least, I can still use the potion on her in the future, but who knows if the reverse is true. It's better to see where this goes.</p><p>"One more thing Yua," I call out to her. "Do you want to get stronger? Right now, since you're a kitten, I can't make you any stronger. But if you use this item Papa has, you'll be able to, but you won't be a kitten anymore."</p><p>"That's okay!" she says. "Yua just wants to save other kittens. If Yua has to become not a kitten then that is okay with Yua!"</p><p>I smile at her and pet her behind her ears. "Okay then, hold still," I tell her, and I use the item on her.</p><p>A bright white light emits from her, obscuring her form. I can make out that her silhouette is shifting, but it's only growing slightly bigger. After just a few moments, the light dies down, and I take a look at the new Yua.</p><p>She honestly doesn't look very different. She looks like a normal cat still, just slightly bigger than she was before. That is until she stands up on two legs, and I realize what she's become.</p><p><strong>Yua<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 100[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Palico<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 3,030 (61 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 3,030 (61 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 2,020 (40 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 101<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 101<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 201<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 101<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 101<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 203<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 109</strong></p><p>If memory serves me right, Palico's are the cat-like creatures from Monster Hunter that aided the player. With Yua's focus on magic items and her backline support and utility focus, it's honestly the perfect race for her. Especially as she should have thumbs now.</p><p>I'm a little sad she didn't get the XP that she missed out on while training, but oh well. There will be plenty of XP for her from here on out.</p><p>"How do you feel?"</p><p>"Hmm," she says, looking down at her paws, which have definitely become more hand-like. "I can stand up like Papa now! And I can grab things, like everyone else!"</p><p>I blink. Her speech pattern has changed, she calls herself 'I' now instead of referring to herself in the third person. Well, I guess it's just a sign that she's maturing? Though it's impossible to guess her actual physical age at this point.</p><p>"That will be very helpful tomorrow when we go back to the dungeon," I tell her. "Now you can use wands in your hands. And guess what, now you don't have to get them from me anymore, you can pull them from the same place I put them in."</p><p>"Really?" she asks. Her brows furrow slightly, and I notice that despite how cat-like she still is, she's a lot more expressive now. She reaches forward and one of the wands I have stored in my inventory appears in her hands. A quick look through my inventory confirms he took one out by herself. "That's awesome!" she exclaims.</p><p>"Why don't you go explore some with your new abilities?" I encourage her. "Maybe go visit Momo? You're free to go wherever you want now. I'll tell you if I need you and you can teleport right back to my side."</p><p>"Okay!" she agrees. "I'm gonna go see Mama then! I'll see you later Papa!" She gets back down on all fours and runs off, disappearing mid-stride as she teleports away.</p><p>I feel my Doppelganger wink out of existence in the distance. Just in time, it seems. I [Void Travel] to the kitchen and take over the preparations it was in the middle of. It's been a hell of a day with a lot of things happening, and it's not over yet.</p><hr/><p>I reached two milestones for skills while making dinner. First, [Mentor] maxed out finally, opening up even more options for me, allowing me to teach party members five skills and not reducing their XP gain for those skills at all.</p><p>Second, [Cooking] passed level 50, and while the skill description didn't change, the next time I was scrolling through my inventory, I noticed that I knew how to use some of the magical plants and animal parts I normally use for [Alchemy] as [Cooking] ingredients.</p><p>Dinner is pretty much done though, so I go outside and start putting plates out onto the tables. Atsuko isn't there, presumably having gone back to running after resting. No matter.</p><p>[Sound Domain] at its current level only has a range of 55 meters. Which isn't big enough to contact everyone from where I am. But the sound I create within that range isn't limited to that range.</p><p>Amping up the volume, I use [Sound Domain] to shout an announcement that dinner is ready. Everyone arrives pretty quickly. Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba fly in, something that Atsuko and Aika will need lessons on soon. Aika and Asia arrive soon after since their practice areas aren't very far away. Atsuko is the last to arrive, running and sweaty.</p><p>Since we're out training and out in the mountains, there's really only one thing I could have made for dinner, and that's curry. I dole out a plate of it to everyone, including myself, and all of us dig. Everyone is sweaty and tired and hungry, so there's not much conversation. Just the rapid consumption of multiple plates of food. Even Asia has two plates, while Koneko asks for seven plates, and would have asked for more I'm sure if I hadn't run out. Once again, her stomach defies physics and prevents the existence of leftovers. Oh well. For dessert I pass out brownies, making sure to give Koneko two to reward her for her training session earlier.</p><p>After dinner, we transition straight into a strategy meeting. Rias has a folder with reports on all of the members of Riser's Peerage including their strengths, their fighting styles, and any known weaknesses. That last section is usually pretty blank. Unlike games, most normal enemies don't just have convenient weaknesses to exploit. Except for Holy damage, I guess, since they're Devils.</p><p>I only half pay attention to the strategy meeting. Rias has it covered and none of the information she's detailing is new to me. Instead, I'm going over my skill list. I have a lot of level 1 skills that either need to be combined with something else or trained.</p><p>First, I finally combine the skill I got last night with the obvious choice.</p><p>
  <strong>Skills [Green Thumb] and [Control Plants] successfully combined!<br/>New Skill added<br/>[Dryad's Aura] - Level 12(90%)<br/>Control plants within a 12-meter radius around you. Feed them MP to make them grow. MP cost varies.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Green Thumb] taught to Asia Argento has been changed to [Dryad's Aura]</strong>
</p><p>Just the two skills in one, with no loss in power, perfect. And Asia's already been upgraded to the new skill as well. I'll tell her about it tomorrow in the dungeon. It could prove very helpful in the plant-filled Forest dungeon.</p><p>Unfortunately, no other skill combinations really jump out at me. I could combine [Hemomancy] and [Bone Manipulation] for some sort of flesh crafting skill or something, or maybe throw in [Speak with the Dead] and wind up with a Necromancy skill maybe, but none of those are appealing. [Hemomancy] I have vague plans for and I'm not really interested in raising the dead.</p><p>And my other level 1 skills don't really mix well with anything at all. So instead, I switch to cutting my palm with my knife under the table. I retrieved my Poisoned Sheath this morning, now primed with Ultimate Poison, and I use it to reapply poison to my knife so I can keep poisoning myself. I make sure to use [Sound Domain] to mute the actions though, so those with more sensitive hearing don't pick up what I'm doing. Koneko still looks at me funny though. There's nothing I can do about the scent I guess, even if I barely bleed at all before the cut heals up.</p><p>Using Ultimate Poison is actually a bit risky because sixty seconds of it is enough to kill me. But drinking a minor HP potion at around 50% health lets me ride it out without issue. And it levels the skill up fast, much faster than the safe methods I was using before.</p><p>Though only for the first one. After that, the skill levels up enough that the Ultimate Poison only deals half my maximum health in sixty seconds. At first, I'm confused about how a ten percent difference in the damage reduction done by [Poison Resistance] results in such a large change, but then I realize that the reduction happens before my natural HP regen reduces the damage done per second even more.</p><p>Four more applications gets [Poison Resistance] to level 80, which is where it slows down even harder. The poison is now barely doing any damage at all, and the skill is barely gaining any experience. But I have nothing better to do, and it's still gaining experience, so I keep at it.</p><p>Five more applications brings the skill to level 81, and after that, things come to a halt as the poison can no longer beat my natural healing rate. For a moment, I think that this is the end, but then I realize there's a way around this.</p><p>Still working under the table, if only so I don't distract the others, I whip up a Major Decay Poison which reduces my HP regen by 75% for nearly twenty minutes. I drink it and then stab myself with the poisoned knife again. This time the poison reduces my health far more, and [Poison Resistance] increases to 85 in one go.</p><p>I get the skill to level 95 before the poison starts only doing one damage a second, and in the nine minutes left on my Major Decay Poison effect, I barely level the skill at all, so I leave it there. My only options now are to find a stronger poison, somehow, or use an Ultimate Decay Poison to reduce my healing to zero. But I'll need more healing potions for that, so I'll figure it out later.</p><p>When the strategy meeting is done for the day, we move on to a couple hours of general training. Normally this would focus on training their stamina and magical reserves, and Koneko, Kiba, and Asia all do this, but I ask Akeno and Rias to teach Atsuko and Aika to use their Devil magic and how to fly with their new wings.</p><p>Rather than join them in their strength training, I retreat inside to grind more of my crafting skills. Partway through making more cloaks, I get a surprise notification from the Game.</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Serafall Leviathan</strong>
</p><p>Where did that come from? Before I can figure that out, my phone rings, and sure enough, it's Serafall herself calling me.</p><p>"Hello, this is Axton's Potion Emporium, purveyor of potions and alchemical goods," I answer. "This is Axton speaking. How can I help?"</p><p>"They work!" comes an excited voice from the earpiece. "We just ran the tests and confirmed it, at least half the girls are pregnant. The other ones we'll keep checking, but with more than half of the girls already returning positives I'm sure we'll get positive results soon. And even if we don't, just this number of pregnancies is astounding!"</p><p>Oh right, that was still in question. That explains the Affection gain. "Glad to hear you're satisfied with my product," I say with a smile.</p><p>"'Satisfied' he says," she says with a sigh. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one. Though I have to say, you've put me in a tricky position."</p><p>"If it's about how the Devil population is going to increase enough that it might threaten to spark a war between the three factions again, I'm definitely willing and looking into selling the potions to them as well to help balance things out," I tell her.</p><p>"Okay, good," she says, sounding slightly relieved. I wish [Empathy] worked through the phone. "How soon? Because until those deals are made, I can't do anything with these potions."</p><p>"Well, I'm a little busy right now, and for the next week, so I haven't been able to start making headway into things yet, so it's hard to say," I answer.</p><p>"Busy?" she asks, confused. "Oh, the thing with the Phenex brat. You're training Rias, right? Sirzechs can't step in too much for fear of accusations of favoritism which would cause a big annoying mess with certain factions, but I can step in and put a stop to that whole thing as a favor to you, and the worst that'll happen is that it'll get you a lot of attention and make it public why I'd owe you a favor."</p><p>"Nah, it's better for Rias to handle this on her own, even if I have to help her out a little bit," I say. "Besides, I don't really need much sleep. If you can organize a meeting between around midnight and 6am my time, I can be there no problem. And I have my own method of teleportation now, so it can be wherever. So long as it's on Earth at least, I haven't tried getting to the Underworld."</p><p>"Perfect, I should be able to arrange something soon," she replies. "Azazel and Michael are sure to be very interested and I'm sure I can get them to clear their schedule a bit. We can figure out prices later. Speaking of, I'm happy to say that construction on your new house has started already and it should be done in a couple days."</p><p>"For a long-lived species, you sure do work fast," I tell her.</p><p>"For what you're giving us, I could get it done by tomorrow morning," she says. "But since you're busy anyway, I won't rush it too much. I'll let you know when it's done and I'll give you a tour."</p><p>"Sounds like a plan," I reply.</p><p>"So this training thing you're doing for Rias," Serafall starts, changing the subject. "You'll be doing it for Sona, right?"</p><p>Her tone was mostly casual, but there was a hint of steel to her words. "Already planned on it," I reply, and it's the truth. "It probably would have happened soon if Riser hadn't pushed up the timetable for Rias."</p><p>"Good!" she says, voice back to cheery. "In that case, I'll let you get back to it. Don't have too much fun~" Before I can reply, she hangs up. Dammit, I wanted to ask her how she was liking the tablet. Oh well.</p><p>I go back to making more cloaks, and I'm able to make 200 of them by the time everyone finishes their training, getting my [Tailoring] level to 42. With how little each cloak gets me, I'm going to have to switch to something more complicated soon if I want to level at an efficient rate. Maybe once I get the skill past level 50 I'll get a better option.</p><p>Going back outside, I call out to everyone again and gather them all together. Everyone is sweaty and tired, and Atsuko and Aika are dirty from where they fell when trying to learn how to fly. I watched them with [Void Sight] while making the cloaks, and they struggled at first, but they can at least sort of fly by themselves now. Not very well, but they'll have time to practice more.</p><p>"And that concludes the first day of my training camp!" I tell them. "Congratulations to all of you. I know it's been tiring, but already you guys have made some pretty big steps forward. And this is just the start, we have six more days of this. But for tonight, you're done. Rias tells me that the bath is ready to go, and I'll be in a room nearby offering massages to anyone who's interested. Just a little something to help relax your muscles and get the most out of your training. Come one at a time either before, during, or after your bath, and I'll give you just the thing you need to be able to get a good rest tonight."</p><p>Most of them perk up at the mention of a bath and the massages. Aika and Akeno actually share the same look, a knowing grin with a bit of hunger in their eyes. Atsuko I can tell is distracted by the realization that she gets to bathe with everyone. Rias has an expression of curiosity on her face. Koneko looks a little suspicious, but from the way she's stretching, I can tell she's sore as well. Kiba just looks grateful, and Asia looks nervous.</p><p>"Should we come naked?" Akeno asks in a teasing voice.</p><p>"If you'd like," I reply easily. "The fewer clothes in the way, the better the massage I can give you. But come in as much or as little clothing as you're comfortable with."</p><p>"I'll take you up on that," she replies with a wink. Then they all head as a group to the baths, though Kiba goes into a small bath by himself, not going to the larger one where all the girls are headed. Ah, poor Kiba. Not that he seems to care.</p><p>I [Void Travel] into the room nearby where I already set up a massage table and all of the things I need, and I spend my time spying on the girls in the bath with [Void Sight] while waiting for the first person to come by.</p><hr/><p>Work done for the day, Serafall Leviathan teleported home to relax some. As a Satan, she didn't get much time to rest and relax, but recently she'd been making sure to carve out a bit more time for herself, and there was one magician she could thank for that. Axton.</p><p>She locked her bedroom door, something that wasn't necessary considering she was alone in her home and how many privacy and security wards she had up. She contemplated her new ally while she punched in the long security code to open the safe hidden behind the fake safe hidden behind a painting in her bedroom.</p><p>As soon as the incident with the rogue Fallen Angels had reached her ears, she had started researching him. A mysterious human that had magic that couldn't be sensed and casually took down four low level Fallen, but hadn't made a peep before then? That was suspicious, and someone suspicious near So-tan was no good.</p><p>But no matter how much she looked into him, nothing weird came up. Oh sure, his parents suddenly moving back to America and leaving him behind was suspiciously convenient, but she actually tracked them down and both were normal humans and showed no signs of mental manipulation. When asked why they were okay leaving their child behind in another country, with just a little bit of mind magic to make them answer truthfully, they cited that Axton was a mature and independent kid already, and that they were confident he'd be okay on his own. They were sad that he hadn't called them, but they figured it was just him enjoying his taste of freedom, and he'd call once he got used to things.</p><p>When she started pressing them about their knowledge of the supernatural, she was surprised to find that nothing came up. Nothing at all. They weren't magicians and had no clue about any aspect of the supernatural world. But Axton seemed comfortable in the supernatural and with his abilities, though he claimed to have no knowledge of Heaven, the Fallen, or Devils. Which wasn't impossible, but it was unlikely for someone of his skill level.</p><p>Watching him directly was much more helpful, though the most suspicious thing he did was sleep around a lot, including with girls that were members of her sister's Peerage. They seemed willing and even happy, and a lust driven teenage boy was pretty normal all things considered. Though she was never able to spy on him at home.</p><p>That was the other strange aspect of Axton. His apparent lack of magic extended to more than just not being able to sense his magic. He couldn't be sensed at all. Magic, life force, soul searching; none of those methods picked him up. It made it difficult, if not impossible, to target him with long-ranged divination magic.</p><p>It took her a long while, too long really, to make the connection to where she'd seen something similar before. At first, she refused to believe it, as the idea itself was ridiculous. But she did some digging into old records to confirm it, and the possibility was hard to ignore. Axton's abnormalities weren't unique and had been noted in one other person before. Or rather, one other being. Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God.</p><p>For sure, Ophis wasn't hidden as Axton was. It was true that it was impossible to sense her magical or physical strength, but she had a presence that accompanied her that made her hard to miss or mistake for someone else. And she had the same exact immunity to long-range targeting with divination spells, not that more than a handful of people had been foolish enough to try to spy on the Ouroboros Dragon.</p><p>There was another obvious similarity between the two as well, that was their Dimensional abilities. Ophis's ties to the Dimensional Gap, the space outside of reality, was well known, as was her desire to kick Great Red out of it. Though more details than that were difficult to track down and unreliable at best. But she was comfortable in that non-space that made up the Dimensional Gap and made it her home.</p><p>And while not exactly the same, Axton's pocket space and his newly revealed miniature training dimensions weren't totally different either. There was magic that could create pocket spaces of course, but what Axton did was different. It wasn't magic, and it felt otherworldly. It reminded her more of Ophis than the spells she was familiar with. If she didn't know better and didn't know that Ophis was alive and at her full power, Serafall would have guessed that Axton possessed a Sacred Gear containing the power of the Infinite Dragon, just like the Boosted Gear contained the power of Ddraig. But there was no way that could be the case.</p><p>She never did manage to figure how Axton and his abilities related to Ophis and the Dimensional Gap, if they did at all. Whatever the origin of his powers, she eventually had to admit that he wasn't a threat to her So-tan, and in fact, seemed to be a boon and a potential member of her peerage. It was as she was trying to come up with ways to help sneakily convince him to join her sister's peerage when she received a call from Sona, saying Axton could make <em>fertility</em> potions.</p><p>She hadn't even known he made potions of any kind, but apparently, he made lots of different kinds, though not in a huge number. And he had gone out of his way to make something to help solve an issue that he had been told the Devils faced.</p><p>The meeting that had followed was a whirlwind. Seeing the way Sona interacted with him, comfortable around him despite his mysterious nature, elevated him in her eyes, and that was when she decided to trust him. For now. Only for it to be followed by how effective the potions were and how generous he was with them, completely blowing her away.</p><p>She could instantly tell Axton hadn't really realized how valuable the potions were to the Devils. She didn't judge him too harshly for it though. He had just been introduced to her world, and it was obvious he didn't have any experience trading valuable items like that before. Axton acted confident and casual, but she'd been at enough negotiation tables to recognize a rookie.</p><p>Still, she didn't take advantage of it. How could she? A solution to her race's issue even more effective than the Evil Pieces, and obtained so cheaply? She felt nothing but gratitude to Axton. So when all he asked for was a house, she decided to discard that notion. A house? No, Axton was going to receive the best damn mansion she could make in a week, and whatever other things she could give him. Already she had started making arrangements for other rewards and forms of payment. She refused to let his generosity go unrewarded.</p><p>Though the most interesting part of the night had been after that. When Sona had actually <em>flirted</em> with Axton. Not that anyone else would have called that interaction flirting, but for her precious So-tan, it was quite the daring show. That once again caused Serafall to reevaluate Axton.</p><p>Serafall had never bothered to hide her affections for her sister, not <em>really</em>. She downplayed it sometimes or made it look more joking than what it actually was, but her un-sisterly feelings of desire for Sona had never been a secret. But it was one she never acted on beyond teasing, for one simple reason. It would make Sona sad.</p><p>Sona was a good girl, and she had very strong beliefs about responsibility and the proper way of doing things. So getting involved in a relationship with her sister, who was also one of the leaders of Hell, was something she wouldn't allow. In her eyes, it was improper, and the fuss it would raise about favoritism and inappropriate actions was something Sona wouldn't allow to come to happen. Serafall would have gladly put up with it, but she wouldn't put Sona through that.</p><p>It wasn't that Sona didn't like her at all. So-tan was affectionate with Serafall in her own way when it was just the two of them. Sona was just shy. It also wasn't an issue with her being a girl, or even with her being her sister. Serafall had spied on Sona's internet history enough to know that Sona liked boys and girls equally, and there had even been that one time she had looked up lesbian incest porn.</p><p>That has been a good day for Serafall, though her enthusiasm ruined it because she was too affectionate with Sona the next day, and Sona was smart enough to figure out that Serafall was spying on her. That day Sona increased the security on her phone and computer. That didn't stop Serafall, but after that Sona never so much as touched incest porn.</p><p>But Serafall was happy with just that much. The chance was there, So-tan didn't hate her, she was just too proper for her own good, though Serafall loved that part of her too. She had fantasized about different ways she could convince Sona anyways. Everything from secret trysts to changing Devil society as a whole.</p><p>But the way Sona flirted with Axton opened up a new possibility.</p><p>Convincing Sona to marry someone that she also married was a very old plan of hers, one of the first she came up with. Both of them being married to the same person opened the door to perfectly acceptable fun times between the two of them. But it had problems that were difficult for her to overcome. Or rather, one large problem. The person they'd marry.</p><p>It felt impossible for her to find a candidate that would work. Before Sona was born, Serafall was never very interested in romance. She'd had a few flings here and there, but that was mostly to satisfy her sexual urges. And then when Sona came around...well who could compared to the perfect person that was her sister?</p><p>That being said, she was willing to settle a bit for So-tan. But that didn't help much either. The type of person that they could both marry without kicking up a fuss, something Serafall wanted to avoid for Sona's sake, existed only in a pretty specific political level, and Sona wasn't interested in any of them. Or so Serafall thought.</p><p>Axton turned to be the missing piece she never knew existed. She had only looked within Devil society for a suitable candidate, she hadn't expected to find one outside of it. But Axton was perfect. Most importantly, Sona liked him, and the way in which he was introduced to the Devils and how he spent his days made the idea of Sona and Axton becoming an item not only acceptable, but perfectly natural. And the potions he could make and the importance he would play not only in Devil society, but the society of all of the factions put him at a high enough level of importance that Serafall falling for him was also totally acceptable. Surprising to all that knew her maybe, and her true intentions would be obvious to some, but there wouldn't be any fuss about it.</p><p>Not to mention that saying she was settling for Axton would be a bit of an exaggeration. His black hair, his sharp eyes, his intelligence, and level-headedness...well, if he put on some glasses he would almost be a male version of So-tan. Though Sona was way cuter. But still. He was cute, and she wouldn't mind sharing a bed with him, especially if Sona was there too.</p><p>Speaking of. She discarded those thoughts and finally opened the safe. Inside were three items. A picture of Sona having a wardrobe malfunction when she was picking out a swimsuit last summer, a dildo that Serafall had bought for Sona that Sona had only used once before throwing it away that Serafall had intercepted it before it could touch the trash, and the amazing and beautiful tablet that Axton had let her borrow.</p><p>Taking the tablet and dildo out, she closed the safe again and made her way to her bed, stripping completely out of her clothes, discarding them onto the ground. Already her slit was slick with arousal just from the anticipation she had. She laid down on the bed, head propped up on a stack of pillows, legs spread, and the tablet held with one hand while her other gently teased herself with the dildo.</p><p>She flicked the power button for the tablet and looked in awe at the thousands of videos, pictures, sound files, and even text files she had already saved, all of them focusing on Sona. Every roleplay situation she could think of, she found. Every night since she had gotten this tablet she had masturbated to the porn it made until she fell asleep, usually immediately post-orgasm, the dildo still inside of her. It was even better than spying on Sona in the shower and seeing her masturbate, something that rarely occurred.</p><p>She pushed the dildo into herself as her breath grew heavy. Just scrolling through the thumbnails of the stuff she had saved was enough to almost bring her to her first orgasm. She slowly pushed it further in as she scrolled through, taking in the sight of a naked Sona doing so many lewd things.</p><p>By the time she reached the bottom, she had cum once already just from that. But she knew from previous nights that once wasn't nearly enough. But something caught her eye.</p><p>All the way at bottom of the favorites were three images that didn't include Sona at all, but instead were just Serafall in skimpy versions of her magical girl outfit and covered in cum.</p><p>She grinned as she realized that they must have been something Axton saved. So he gets a magic porn tablet and the first thing he looks up and saves is pictures of her? She's flattered. Ah, but she took that away from him, didn't she? Well, maybe she'd send him some replacements later. She had a few outfits sent to her by fans that she hadn't ever worn but looked a lot like the ones in the picture.</p><p>Later though, she was busy right now. She had to decide what kind of Sona porn to look up tonight. Preferably something she hadn't looked up yet.</p><p>She paused. Well, it wasn't going to be just her and Sona, was it? Axton would be there too sometimes, and the idea of that wasn't bad. Maybe she should look up some porn of that?</p><p>Using the search function she quickly finds some videos of the three of them together. At first, she wasn't into it and watching Axton's penis go into Sona stoked feelings of jealousy in her. Right up until the Axton in the video pulled out of Sona and rammed his cock into Serafall's, the one in the video, throat.</p><p>The real Serafall instantly came, inner walls clamping tight around the dildo inside of her as her back arched. She understood now, the connection of sleeping with the same man. The thought of Axton's Sona-juice-covered dick ramming into her excited her like never before.</p><p>She frantically looked up more videos of the three of them together. Videos of just Sona and videos of just Sona and Serafall were good, but including Axton was also pretty appealing in its own right.</p><p>Finding a video where Sona and Serafall embraced each other and kissed while Axton switched between their holes, Serafall spent the next several hours fantasizing and bringing herself to orgasm after orgasm with the dildo that Sona once used.</p><p>Ahh, she can't wait for this to become a reality.</p><hr/><p>"Ahh, thanks for that Axton!" Kiba says as he gets up from the massage table clad in only his underwear.</p><p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Yuuto Kiba<br/>A lewd skill gem has been rewarded for Yuuto Kiba reaching exactly 69 Affection</strong>
</p><p>My eye twitches as I try to keep my expression normal. I don't know how, but Kyu arranged this on purpose, I'm sure of it. "Sure thing Kiba," I say, voice only slightly strained. "This sort of thing is important to your training as well, any little bit that helps."</p><p>"You're absolutely right," Kiba agrees with a nod before his expression becomes more serious. "Thanks for helping us out Axton, it means a lot to Rias, and we all appreciate it."</p><p>I relax. It's hard to get annoyed when he's such a genuinely nice dude. "I'm happy to help," I say. Then I make shoo-ing motions with my hand. "Now get dressed and get outta here, the next person is on their way."</p><p>"Got it," he agrees easily, quickly getting dressed. A few seconds later he's gone, and I sigh. I knew when I offered massages that Kiba would be included in that, and it's not like I was grossed out by just touching a dude. But all I could think of is how much I'd rather be massaging any of the girls. Kiba, alone in the smaller bathroom, finished his own bath pretty quickly and got here first though.</p><p>Oh well. Now that he's out of the way, it's nothing but girls from here on out. Before the next person gets here, I quickly use the lewd skill gem I got.</p><p>
  <strong>Lewd Skill Gem Used!<br/>Pick a Lewd Skill!<br/>[Refraction Reduction]<br/>[Alter Size]<br/>[Imbue Tightness]<br/>[Summon Appendages]<br/>[X-Ray Vision]<br/>[Lubricate]<br/>[Clean Body]<br/>[Seal Orgasm]<br/>[Link Sensations]<br/>[Phantom Hands]<br/>[Bind]</strong>
</p><p>Are there more skills on this list than before? Kyu must have added some. Looking over the list, I decide on [Clean Body]. Certainly not the most exciting skill, but in this training camp where everyone is getting sweaty and dirty, it's probably one of the most useful to me right now.</p><p><strong>[Clean Body] - Level 1(0%)<br/></strong> <strong>Clean a person or being that you're touching. Costs 20MP.</strong></p><p>That's pretty vague. Clean them of what? As a test, I use it on myself. I can tell there's a slight change. I guess I feel cleaner? Not that I felt particularly dirty before. And using it on myself again doesn't seem to change anything. Does leveling the skill even change anything? It's not like the cost can go down much more, and if there's a difference in how much it cleans, I can't tell. Though maybe I'd see the difference if I tried it on someone who was actually dirty.</p><p>I shrug. Since repeat uses of it seem to be effective in leveling it up, I just keep spamming it on myself. Might as well power level the skill.</p><p>It's then that the next person arrives for their massage, and of course, it's Aika. She's still wet from the bath and has nothing but a towel around her to protect her modesty, but as soon as the door closes behind her the towel drops to the floor.</p><p>I let my eyes roam over her body, knowing she's showing off on purpose. "You always manage to know exactly what makes me happy," I say. I indicate the table. "Go ahead and lay down though, and we'll get started."</p><p>She blinks in surprise. "Wait, you're actually doing the massages?"</p><p>I tilt my head at her. "Yes?" I answer, unsure.</p><p>"I thought it was just an excuse to get each of us alone so you could have your way with us," she admits as she lays face down on the table.</p><p>"Well. I might indulge a little," I admit as I run a finger from her thigh and up the curves of her ass. A small shiver ripples through her at my touch. "But no, for the most part, I'll be doing actual massages. It actually is helpful for you and it'll help prevent a lot of soreness tomorrow. The fact that it lets me put my hands all over beautiful girls is a plus, for certain."</p><p>"Uh-huh," she says, not at all convinced. "And you're not going to do anything lewd?"</p><p>"Not <em>tonight</em>," I clarify as I pour massage oil onto her back. "You can't rush these sorts of things. First, I'll just give everyone a really nice massage, get them comfortable with it. Then things will get a little lewder from there, depending on the girl."</p><p>"I knew it," she says. "It's a good plan though, I fully approve."</p><p>I laugh as I start rubbing the oil into her skin and activate [Massage]. "I'm glad. Speaking of plans, did you come up with anything for Asia?"</p><p>Aika moans a little as [Massage] gets to work on her sore muscles. "Hmm, maybe. How'd your one on one time go with her?"</p><p>"I think she almost confessed," I admit. "She chickened out though, and I didn't push."</p><p>"So she's already there huh?" Aika contemplates. "I might not need to do much then. Okay. Atsuko and I were going to drag you back to the bath after you finished the massages anyways. It's a nice bath and we wanted to relax there with you. I'll drag Asia along as well. Hopefully, we'll be able to show her what 'love' is like and encourage her to try it for herself."</p><p>"That does sound nice," I say. "And like a good plan. When I'm done I'll head straight to the bath then. You guys can meet me there." I move my way down from her back and start working on her legs.</p><p>She moans again. I'm not even using [Touch of Pleasure], but she's really feeling it. "Are you sure I can't convince you to ravish me right here and now on this table?" she asks hopefully.</p><p>"What are you talking about Aika?" I ask her innocently. "You didn't hit me in our little spar today, so no reward. You'll have to work a little harder for that."</p><p>She groans. "I was hoping you forgot," she admits, and I laugh.</p><p>"Just come up with a plan to hit me once, doesn't even need to be a good hit, and tomorrow night I'll fill you up with my cum right here on this table," I whisper in her ear.</p><p>"You're such a tease," she grumbles, but I sense a powerful sense of motivation from her.</p><p>I grin. "I believe in you Aika, you can do it."</p><p>I finish the massage quickly and finish it off by casting [Clean Body] on her, and then I cast [Erotic Dreams] on here since she's here. "There you go, you're good to go."</p><p>She gets up with a noise of contentment. "I might be really horny now, but that sure did hit the spot." She gives me a hug and a kiss, still naked, which I return. "Thanks, Axton."</p><p>"Sure thing, Aika," I say. "Akeno's outside the door waiting for her turn though, so go ahead and get going so I can get to her. I have a lot of girls to give a massage to, so I can't dally too much."</p><p>"Yeah yeah," she says as she picks up her towel and wraps it around herself. "Have fun~" she says with a wink before she opens the door and strolls out.</p><p>Akeno steps in, also wrapped in just a towel, with an eyebrow raised. "Oh? Is that what this is about?" she asks teasingly. "Are you just here to have fun?"</p><p>"I'm here for a lot of reasons," I reply easily. "Having fun is usually on there somewhere. But no, that was just Aika teasing. I'm mainly here to help you guys relax after training and have you guys fresh and ready for tomorrow."</p><p>"Mainly?" she asks, and as she does so she casually unwraps her towel, exposing herself in front of me.</p><p>My eyes take in the sight of her glistening pale skin, still wet from her bath. Her crotch is smooth, clean-shaven, and her tits are topped by erect nipples. [Lewd Scouter] says that she's at moderate arousal already. "There's a bit of selfishness in my motivation as well I suppose," I say distractedly, which causes her smile to widen.</p><p>Before things go too far though, I turn around and grab some massage oil. "Go ahead and lay down and we can get started," I say.</p><p>"You know," she says as I hear her lay down on the table. "Atsuko and Aika could not stop talking about your massages."</p><p>I turn around, massage oil in hand, and I cast [Clean] on her quickly before I pour some of it onto her back. "Didn't I tell you the other day?" I ask, referring to the day at the pool. "You wouldn't believe what I can do with my fingers." With that, I activate [Massage] and [Touch of Pleasure] and start kneading her sore muscles.</p><p>She lets out a soft noise of satisfaction and pleasure. "Mmm," she moans. "You're right, I wouldn't have believed it would feel this good."</p><p>"If there's one thing I take pride in, it's my ability to make others feel good," I reply as I work on her upper back.</p><p>"That must be why you're so popular," she comments in a relaxed tone. I move down to her lower back. "A girl could get used to massages like this every day."</p><p>"There's a reason I learned how to do this," I claim. "And it's not because I'm interested in a career in physical therapy."</p><p>She laughs. "So forward and frank," she says. "Not that I dislike that sort of thing."</p><p>I grin and move my hands down to cup the supple meat of her ass cheeks. "Me? Forward?" I say as I blatantly grope her ass, slightly turning up [Touch of Pleasure]. "You must be getting me mixed up with someone else."</p><p>"You-" she starts, but it turns into a moan as I squeeze. Her legs shift slightly, most likely unconsciously, and I realize that I have a pretty clear view of her pussy, glistening with arousal.</p><p>"I still owe you for that day at the pool, don't I?" I ask her. I let my hands trail down from her ass and down to her plump thighs, fingers tracing light paths as they went. My hands stop as they approach her inner thighs, and their position makes my intentions clear. "That offer is still on the table. And it looks like you could use it right about now."</p><p>She hesitates, and [Empathy] practically lets me feel the war of uncertainty and arousal going on inside of her head. I trace my fingers in small circles as I increase the power of [Touch of Pleasure] another small bit, and I feel as arousal wins out.</p><p>She spreads her legs further in clear invitation. "If you insist," she says, not letting a speck of her previous uncertainty show. "I'd like to see how much of you is all talk, or if you have the skills to back it up."</p><p>A challenge is it? Well, I'll have to pull out all of my tricks. [Erotic Pierrot] works on increasing her already pretty high arousal, [Increase Sensitivity] to make her even more sensitive, and [Touch of Pleasure] is increased to even higher levels. I don't go too hard on any of the skills. I keep it relatively low so it can just be explained by technique and the atmosphere alone. I don't want anyone below 100 Affection to know of my lewd skills.</p><p>As tempting as it is, I don't dive straight for the main attraction. I continue my earlier actions, and slowly trace a meandering path up her inner thighs with my fingertips. With all of my skills active it produces a powerful effect. Shivers run through her and I can hear a sultry moan escape her lips.</p><p>"So sensitive," I tease her. Before she has a chance to retort I run a finger along her wet slit, and whatever she was going to say turns into another keening moan. I grin. I enjoyed it when she was in charge and giving me a reach around, but turning the tables on her is pretty nice too.</p><p>I continue to run my finger up and down her entrance, pressing harder into her warm and soft flesh. I keep my pace slow though, taking my time. Unfortunately, it occurs to me that as much as I enjoy the slow teasing, we don't have that kind of time here.</p><p>So I spread her lower lips a little as I jump straight to inserting two fingers inside of her. I take it slow, gently spreading her as I feel her clamp around my fingers. Her moans increase in pitch as I push my fingers inside of her.</p><p>"There's a lot of pressure here," I comment as if I'm not two knuckles deep inside of her. "Don't you worry, I'll thoroughly massage it and clear that right up for you." Interestingly enough, [Massage] was still active and seemed to be working.</p><p>"Axton-" she starts, but she's interrupted by another moan as I start probing her insides. I explore her as much as I can, trying different angles, focusing on different spots, spreading my fingers as I slowly pump my fingers. It's not long before I find the spot that makes her continuous moaning sharply increase in pitch.</p><p>"There we go," I say gently. "There's the source of the pressure." I increase my tempo, focusing on that one spot. Akeno has given up on speaking, giving in to the pleasure as her moans and breathing fill the room. [Sound Domain] makes sure it doesn't go further than that though, which is a good thing because [Void Detect] picks up Rias approaching the room.</p><p>I amp up [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] even more as well as increase my speed, fingers pumping into her rapidly. A wet schlicking noise accompanies Akeno, and in what feels like no time at all I feel her clamping around my fingers as her back arches. I feel the spasms jolting through her as a scream of ecstasy escapes her lips, and I don't stop my fingering until her climax finishes.</p><p>
  <strong>+9 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p><p>After Akeno relaxes I slowly extract my fingers from her, causing her to shiver slightly. "I'd say that's enough to prove I'm not just all talk, no?"</p><p>"You certainly aren't lacking in talent," Akeno admits, already back to her composed self. She slowly pushes herself up, getting off of the table. I quickly cast [Clean] on both of us as I hand her the towel she was wearing when she came in. "The massage was very good too before you got distracted." She gives me a stern look. "I hope you don't plan on getting distracted with everyone else you'll be giving a massage to though."</p><p>I raise my hands in surrender. "Aside from Atsuko and Aika, you're the only one that seemed interested, which is the only reason I offered. I'm not the kind of guy to pressure the uninterested or unwilling."</p><p>"I suppose that's true," she admits, seemingly satisfied with that answer. Her expression turns teasing again. "Aika was in here before me, does that mean she received the same treatment?"</p><p>"She wishes," I say. "But no, she didn't manage to hit me during training today, and she doesn't get her reward until she manages to do so."</p><p>"Ooh, so cruel," Akeno comments, but her expression is one of enjoyment. "To think you would torture a poor girl like that."</p><p>I roll my eyes, but I'm grinning. "Oh yes, I'm the very picture of cruelty." There's a knock on the door. "And there's Rias, ready for her turn."</p><p>"I'll leave her in your hands then," Akeno says as she opens the door, towel not wrapped around her but instead held casually in her hand, leaving her naked for all to see. Rias, who is on the other side of the door, raises an eyebrow at Akeno’s state of dress. The other girl ignores this and greets her casually as she walks past her, uncaring of her nudity.</p><p>"That girl," Rias says with a sigh, even as she steps into the room and drops her own towel, leaving her just as exposed.</p><p>"Go ahead and lay down on the table and I can get started on you," I say as I close the door behind her.</p><p>She does as I instruct, guiding her long red hair to hang to her side so it's not in the way. I wait for her to settle and get comfortable before applying massage oil to her back and rubbing it into her pale white skin. I have my skills turned off except for [Massage] and [Touch of Pleasure], the latter of which is activated at the lowest amount that I can, just enough to enhance the massage slightly.</p><p>Even so, Rias lets out a small noise of contentment as I start applying pressure to the tight spots in her back. "I had no idea you were a man of so many talents Axton," she compliments. "It seems like every day I learn something new about you that makes me want you in my peerage more and more."</p><p>I chuckle. "I pick up new skills pretty easily," I reply. "And I like to put enough time into practicing them to make them useful. Massaging is definitely one of those."</p><p>She hums in response but doesn't say anything, and the next couple of minutes go by in silence, the only sound being Rias's occasional sighs as I work my way down her back and to her legs. It's too early to start groping her ass, unfortunately. Which is a shame, because it's certainly very hard to ignore. Akeno's boobs might be bigger, but Rias's ass beats her out.</p><p>"You know, I'm really grateful that you're going through this much effort for me," Rias says. "In truth, relying on a Rating Game wasn't something I wanted to do. It's risky. But somehow I feel that your help is all I need to make it happen."</p><p>"It's not like I'm being entirely selfless," I point out. "Two of my lovers are part of your peerage. They'd get caught up in Riser's clutches as well if he got his hands on you. And that is something I can't allow to happen."</p><p>"But you let them join my peerage even knowing about Riser," Rias points out. "And you were looking for ways to help before even then."</p><p>Ah, right. I did say that, didn't I? Well, the better of Rias's opinion of me, the easier my life, so I'll just keep up the modest act. "Phrasing it like that makes it sound like I would have stopped them if I didn't want it to happen," I comment. "They may be my lovers, but I'd never control them like that." Not so heavy-handedly at least.</p><p>"But you don't deny that you were going to help me either way," she says with a smug giggle.</p><p>"I was exploring options, yes," I 'admit'. "Of course Riser ruined all that though. I understand the desire to pursue someone like you, but the way he's going about it is just gross."</p><p>"Someone like me, huh?" Rias says in an unexpectedly sad voice. What was wrong with what I said? Oh. That's right, she has that whole complex about people only caring about her being the Gremory heiress. I need to defuse this situation before she gets the wrong idea.</p><p>"I don't know if you realized Rias, but you are a very attractive young woman," I comment. I can't just praise her looks though, even if that's her strongest aspect. "You're also kind and caring, and you have a presence to you that makes people want to pay attention to you."</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p><p>She doesn't respond for a moment, but I see the tips of her ears turn red. [Void Sight] lets me get a good look at her face, where she's not bothering to hide her embarrassed expression. Laying it on thick was well worth it to see that look on her face.</p><p>"I appreciate the compliments," she somehow manages to say in a normal sounding voice, though I can feel the embarrassment coming off of her with [Empathy]. The conversation dies off again though, and I finish the massage without any more conversation.</p><p>As I finish up I cast [Clean Body] on her to get rid of any sweat or massage oil that might remain. "There you go, that should do it for you."</p><p>She gets up and stretches, giving me a very good look at her nude body from various angles. "Thanks a lot, Axton, I feel great!" she comments with a smile, just as uncaring of her nudity as Akeno was. But unlike Akeno, she wraps her towel around herself before leaving.</p><p>I have a few moments to myself, which I spend wiping down the massage table before Atsuko arrives.</p><p>"I kinda thought I would see you in here right after Aika," I comment as she comes in and shuts the door behind her.</p><p>"I got distracted in the bath," she admits as she strips. Unlike the others, she actually came here dressed. It seems that walking through the halls in just a towel is a little too advanced for her right now.</p><p>"Completely understandable," I say as I watch her finish getting undressed. She blushes a little at my gaze but makes no move to try to hide herself. "It must have been a feast for the eyes in there."</p><p>"Such a good variety too," she says as she lays down. I start pouring massage oil onto her back. "From Akeno's juicy watermelons to Koneko's cute little kiwis, and everything in between."</p><p>"Wish I could've been there to see it," I comment. I had seen it, [Void Sight] was a wonderful skill, but I'm not going to reveal that. Atsuko would probably just be jealous, but I'll keep it to myself for now.</p><p>"Well, you kinda will, won't you?" Atsuko asks. Her breath is getting kinda heavy. "You got to massage Akeno and Rias right?"</p><p>"True," I admit. "And those two certainly aren't shy about their bodies. They spent most of the time here face down though."</p><p>"Yeah but you get to put your hands all over them," Atsuko says wistfully.</p><p>"That was pretty nice," I say. "I don't think Asia or Koneko will come in here nude though."</p><p>"Hmm," Atsuko says. "No, probably not. I don't think Koneko is going to come at all. She already left the bath."</p><p>Damn. She's at 75 Affection too. "Well, no matter. This isn't just an excuse to be able to touch a bunch of pretty girls, I am actually doing this to help."</p><p>"You're so smart Axton," Atsuko comments almost sleepily as she relaxes under my fingers. "Coming up with a way to do both."</p><p>"It's all to gather the best harem," I say. "And just like these massages, my selfish desire also helps others. Like you, and your ability to also get a harem. Because I'm willing to share if it's with you."</p><p>"You're the best," she says with a smile.</p><p>Asia arrives and is waiting outside the door by the time I finish with Atsuko. Atsuko gets dressed and opens the door before suddenly spinning around. "Almost forgot!" she says before wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a kiss. Surprised, but certainly pleased, I return the kiss. When she pulls back she winks at me and then turns back towards the door. "Sorry about that Asia," she says as she walks past. "He's all yours!"</p><p>Asia is blushing slightly as she enters the room and closes the door behind her. "Sorry about her," I say. "Atsuko's a great girl, but she's also a little scatterbrained at times. You ready for your massage?"</p><p>She nods. "Can- can I keep my underwear on?" she asks nervously.</p><p>"As I said before, you can keep as much on as you want," I tell her. "Whatever you're comfortable with, I can work with."</p><p>"But it's better if I'm wearing less?" she says, fingers nervously pulling at her clothes.</p><p>"The more skin I can massage directly, the better it feels, and the more easily I can relax your muscles, yes," I confirm.</p><p>She nods and slowly starts stripping out of her clothes. She came in dressed in her nightgown, so really it's just a matter of taking that off. I see her hesitate for a moment, but she shakes her head and then moves to lay down on the table. I guess that's as far as she's going tonight. No matter, I more or less expected this. I was hoping for maybe no bra, but oh well. I'll trust in Aika's plan tonight to help expedite things.</p><p>I make casual conversation with Asia while I massage her, asking her how she felt about how her training went and her opinions on all of the other people here. Safe topics to get her to relax as I worked on relaxing her muscles. Like it was with Rias, [Touch of Pleasure] is on at a very low level.</p><p>It seems to work. By the time her massage is finished, Asia is both emotionally and physically relaxed, and her mood seems much improved. I don't think she even cares anymore about being in her underwear and shows no signs of shyness as she gets up to get dressed again.</p><p>As she leaves, I start to pack things up, thinking I'm done for the day, but through [Void Detect] I feel Koneko head in my direction. Oh? Is she coming after all?</p><p>She enters the room a minute later, and I've made sure everything is clean by the time she does. "I wasn't sure if you were going to take me up on my offer," I say. "But I'm glad you did. Come in, come in."</p><p>"Kiba said to," she says. "He said it was important to training, and that you did a good job of it."</p><p>At just like that, any regrets I had over having to massage Kiba disappear. I'm sure that if he had Affection gain notifications, he would have gotten one just now. Massaging Kiba was a small price to pay if it means I get to massage Koneko as well.</p><p>"He's right about the training part, and I want to agree with the second part, but I'm biased," I joke. "Go ahead and strip down as much as you're comfortable and we'll get started." I turn around, giving her a degree of privacy to dress down. Or seemingly at least, [Void Sight] and [Void Detect] shows me everything.</p><p>Not that it's very exciting. She simply takes off her pajama shirt and shorts, leaving her in just a sports bra and a pair of plain panties. I don't think she needs the bra. It's probably there for the sake of her modesty. She climbs onto the table and lays face down. "Ready," she says.</p><p>I turn around with a friendly smile and wordlessly get to work. Koneko is shy, so I have to be on my best behavior, or else I'll scare her off. Thankfully, I'm well suited for subtlety. In addition to a slight [Touch of Pleasure], I also hit her with [Increase Sensitivity]. The goal is to make the massage feel as good as possible without making it 'ecchi', which might push her away.</p><p>It certainly seems to work, and after just a couple minutes of me taking it nice and slow, making sure to be thorough, she's utterly relaxed and making small noises of contentment. It's as I get to her lower back that I get a surprise.</p><p>With a noise that could almost be called a purr, two fluffy white ears appear on top of her head and a tail appears on her lower back. I pause, unsure how to handle this, but when Koneko doesn't seem to even notice, I shrug and continue the massage.</p><p>By the time I'm finishing up, [Empathy] reads heavy levels of contentment and happiness coming from her. Good, it seems like I did a good job giving her a good massage without pushing it into the lewd territory. What's most important right now is getting her comfortable with me. And her Nekoshou features appearing is a good sign for exactly that.</p><p>"You're all done," I tell her. She doesn't get up immediately, just relaxing for a moment later, but soon she gathers the willpower to start moving. Facing away from me, she gets off the table and starts getting dressed again. But as she puts on her shorts, they bump up against her tail, and she freezes.</p><p>She quickly whirls to face me, eyes wide, uncaring that she's still shirtless. I cock my head at her. "What's wrong?" I ask her, pretending cluelessness.</p><p>"You...aren't surprised?" she asks, unsure.</p><p>"By the ears and tail?" I ask, and she nods. "A little, but not really. Yua called you a 'kitten' the first day you met her and fed her. I thought she meant another cat had shared some food with her, but when I came to the club and you said it was you that had fed her, I realized that it probably meant you were the kitten in question. Which was a little strange, since Yua hadn't ever called anyone else a kitten before, but I figured something about you reminded her of a cat. So when those popped up in the middle of the massage, I was a little surprised, but it was more along the lines of 'Oh, I guess that's why'."</p><p>She pauses, processing my explanation. "That's it?" she asks.</p><p>"No," I say, and she tenses slightly as if bracing herself. "I also want to say that I think you look really cute with your ears and tail showing. You should show them off more often."</p><p>She blushes slightly and turns around without a word and walks out. "Koneko!" I call out to her, and she turns around. I point at the ground, where her shirt still is. "Your shirt." Her blush deepens as she walks back to it, picks it up, puts it on, and then stiffly walks away again.</p><p>I chuckle. Ahh, she's so cute. Too bad calling her cute didn't get me any Affection, but I suppose her Affection is a little too high for something like that to raise it. Oh well.</p><p>Massages done for the day, I clean everything up and head for the bath. I'm clean already, but a nice soak, while I wait to be joined by my girlfriends and my soon to be girlfriend, sounds pretty enticing.</p><hr/><p>The bath is technically an open-air bath, though half of it is still covered by a roof. The changing room is fully enclosed, and you exit it into a sort of patio area. There's a roof overhead and a floor underneath, and it's where all of the shower heads and mirrors are so you can wash yourself. But then you step out into the pool-sized steaming bath, and instead of a roof, it's just the open sky and some rather high walls. It's nice, and I spend my time relaxing and watching the stars.</p><p>I don't look back when I detect the three girls entering the bath to join me. Aika and Atsuko slip into the bath on my left and right respectively, just as naked as I am. I wrap my arms around their shoulders and hold them close to me, giving each of them a kiss.</p><p>Asia slips into the bath more timidly, a short distance away but still close by. She's not naked but instead is wrapped in a towel. Ah well.</p><p>"Hey girls," I greet all of them. "I didn't know you were coming too Asia, though I'm glad you did."</p><p>"I invited her," Aika says, playing along. "You said you wanted to relax, and she has a very soothing presence, so I figured her being here would help." Aika turns her attention directly to Asia. "Plus, you're cute, and I want to spend more time with you."</p><p>Atsuko and I nod in agreement, and Asia blushes deeper and lowers her eyes.</p><p>"This is nice," I comment, trying to draw the attention away from Asia just a little bit. Too much attention and she might flee. "I know you girls worked really hard today, so getting a chance to relax with you under the stars is nice." I move my arms down from their shoulders to their waists.</p><p>"You worked hard too," Atsuko says, moving to sit on one of my legs. "You focused on each and every one of us, helping us all. And none of this would have been possible without you."</p><p>"No, this is Rias's place, she would have trained you guys herself, and done a fine job of it too," I say.</p><p>"Not as good as you," Aika says, copying Atsuko by climbing onto my lap as well. Now both of them sat on my legs, their legs intertwining between my own, and their boobs level with my eyes. "But the point is, you worked hard too, and so you should relax too."</p><p>I make a small noise of agreement, but don't reply. Instead, I look over to Asia. It might be too much of a push, but I decide to risk it. "You want to come closer and join us in some skinship?" I ask her. "I'm sure I can fit you on my lap as well."</p><p>Unfortunately, I forgot to account for one thing. My own horniness. With both Aika and Atsuko on my lap already, combined with me just having done the massages where I fingered Akeno, I'm feeling pretty aroused myself. And it shows as I look at my lap and see my quickly hardening shaft.</p><p>Asia sees as well, and her light blush quickly turns a deep crimson. "I- umm- I- maybenexttime!" she stammers before quickly standing up and fleeing to the changing room.</p><p>I sigh. "Damn, pushed too hard."</p><p>"You might have had a chance there if it weren't for Axton junior making an appearance," Aika laughs.</p><p>"How could it not in this situation?" I ask them. "Especially after those massages."</p><p>"Feeling a little pent up?" Aika teases as she reaches down with a hand to lightly stroke my shaft. "Maybe we should take care of that?"</p><p>"Oh no you don't," I tell Aika, gently removing her hand from me. "I haven't forgotten that you haven't earned your reward yet."</p><p>Aika clicks her tongue in disappointment at being caught. I laugh, but my hand slips down to Atsuko's crotch. "You on the other hand," I say as I turn to her. "If you don't mind, I <em>could</em> use some relief, since it's just the three of us now.</p><p>Atsuko grins and answers by kissing me and straddling me properly. In a flash, she's lined herself up and lowered herself onto me, and we both groan into the other's mouth as I hilt myself in her.</p><hr/><p>Asia stood in the changing room, face burning. Getting into the bath with Axton had been hard, but she covered herself and all she had to do was not look too closely at Axton. That turned out to be a lot harder than she expected. It was like there was a magnet that pulled her gaze to his chest, and once there it was hard not to look further down.</p><p>She groaned as she held her face in her hand as she remembered seeing his...his <em>thing</em>. That was the first time she had seen one in real life. She'd seen it bulge in his underwear after they woke up, but she at least knew that much was normal for boys, she remembered one of the other girls at the church talking about it in hushed whispers to another one.</p><p>But seeing it out in the open was another thing entirely. She wasn't prepared for that. She was glad that it was Axton's she saw first, but she wasn't ready for the strange feeling it sent through her. So she got scared and she ran, but she regretted it now. She just wanted to spend some time with him, but she ruined it because of a perfectly natural biological phenomenon.</p><p>She sighed. It would be too embarrassing to go back in there though, so she decided to dry off and just go to bed. It had been a long day, and she wanted to put this whole thing behind her. But as she started to dry herself off, she paused, hearing something. It sounded like a girl, and it was coming from the bath?</p><p>She stood there, curiosity battling with her nervousness, but the sound of a girl crying out again gave curiosity the boost it needed to win out. She slowly approached the door to the bath, opened it up just a crack, and peeked through.</p><p>She had to slap a hand over her mouth to stifle the noise of surprise she made. Axton, Atsuko, and Aika were all out of the bath now, and she could see Axton…! She couldn't even put it into words. He was doing <em>that</em> to Atsuko, causing the girl to cry out in pleasure. Aika was behind Atsuko, supporting her and kissing the back of her neck.</p><p>A rush of heat washed over her as she watched. Atsuko continued to cry out as Axton kept moving. She could see flashes of his thingy before it disappeared from view in-inside of Atsuko.</p><p>Asia wanted to look away, but she found herself unable to. Heat continued to build up inside of her, pooling in her lower stomach, as she watched. Her breath grew ragged as the other girl cried out in pleasure. She knew what they were doing was wrong...or was it? They all looked so happy. Axton bent down to kiss Atsuko, and the look of joy on her face was one of the most beautiful things Asia had ever seen. Even Aika smiled at the two of them kissing.</p><p>Could something like that really be called a sin? Something that made people she cared about, good people that she loved, so happy? They weren't hurting anyone. She knew the church said it was wrong, but the Bible was so confusing sometimes. Maybe they misunderstood? There were a lot of men in the Bible with multiple wives, and more with a lot of children. So maybe this was okay?</p><p>Asia continued to watch the three of them pleasure each other, and her eyes widened as Axton sped up before Atsuko cried out and Axton stopped moving, pleasure written clearly on his face. It wasn't until he pulled back, and she saw his thingy on full display, that she realized that he had just….done <em>that</em> inside of her.</p><p>Did that mean they were trying to have kids? She knew doing <em>that</em> to have kids wasn't a sin, or else there wouldn't be people. But she also knew that it could be hard sometimes. And hadn't someone mentioned Devils having issues with that in particular? In that case, it would make sense to try as often as possible.</p><p>The heat inside of her was starting to get unbearable though, and she felt something running down her leg, so she tore her gaze away and silently shut the door. No, what they were doing might be okay, but spying on them was not. She was going to finish getting dressed and go to bed. Maybe reread some sections of her Bible. Surely the Church had misunderstood something, and she was going to try to figure out what.</p><hr/><p>I sit back on my knees, panting as I look at the cum filled Atsuko, but my attention is on our little voyeur. I had noticed her as soon as we started, and I repositioned us so Asia could get a good look at us through the door. Aika had seemed confused until I pointed at the door with my head right as it inched open slightly, and then she understood.</p><p>Luring Asia to the door was easy, requiring only [Sound Domain] and a [Void Sight] enabled [Erotic Pierrot] to raise her arousal at the right moments. And then, once she was watching us, I hit her hard with [Erotic Pierrot].</p><p>It had been a little difficult to split my attention between doing that and fully enjoying Atsuko, but it was so worth it. She was too far away for [Empathy] to work, but [Lewd Scouter] showed her arousal had increased to Moderately High, and more importantly, her Perversion is now just Moderate.</p><p>"She's gone," I tell Aika. "But she seemed to enjoy the show quite a bit."</p><p>"Well, it's not the progress I hoped to see, but maybe this is better," Aika says. She wraps her arms around Atsuko, one hand going down to her lower lips and spreading them, allowing a bit of my cum to dribble out. "Now, back to business. I know once isn't enough for you, and I want to at least watch as you fill Atsuko again."</p><p>I grin. "You don't have to tell me twice," I say. Atsuko's face lights up as I plunge into her once more, and she moans, uncaring of who might hear her. I kiss Aika as I thrust into Atsuko. I have a lot of grinding to do tonight, but that can wait a little longer. I just want to enjoy this for now before I get back to work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I’m on Patreon! I’d very much appreciate it.<br/>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: https://www.tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>AN: And that’s a wrap on the first day of Axton’s Training Camp. Please view this as sort of the second half of the last chapter. And don’t worry. The rest of the training stuff will be montaged, following the same schedule as the first day. I’ll only show the bits where something interesting happens. I’m hoping to get the training stuff done in just a couple of chapters.</p><p>Also, RIP my dream of ‘short’ chapters under 15k words. I’m just not sure I have it in me. The Serafall PoV scene ended up like four times as long as I intended it to be, but I also wrote all of it in a very short time span, my fingers were zooming. </p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I’m glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. DxD: Getting Into Shape 03</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-I thought I remembered reading it, but apparently, I just made up Holy Weapons not being allowed in Rating Games, and in hindsight, it doesn't make much sense. I've removed the mention of it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Orbs of crackling black energy shoot through the air, each one hitting a large bee, erasing it completely. Rias's aim has improved a lot, and she figured out the exact amount of power to put behind each shot. More bees are corralled by large gusts of wind coming from Kiba who is wielding a sword that looks more like a feather. As Kiba makes use of his speed and his sword to group a bunch of bees together, Akeno summons a pillar of flame to burn them all to a crisp.</p><p>I look on from a nearby tree, watching all of them with my mundane senses and various skills. Aika is performing similarly to Rias, though her Dark Missiles aren't as effective as Rias's Destruction Rifle. Atsuko, Koneko, and Asia are doing their best as well, but against a large number of small flying enemies, they're struggling. It isn't a good matchup for melee users. Asia is the only one with a non-melee option, but that's just the Force miracle, and it only serves to push them around. She's mostly focusing on using her light sword, which does pretty well against the bees when she manages to hit them.</p><p>Against the bears and spriggans, she had made great use of the evolution of [Green Thumb], [Dryad's Aura]. Being able to hold bears and spriggans in place with vines and roots had done wonders for her self-confidence and happiness.</p><p>Yua flit between the three melee fighters, two wands in hand and more strapped to her back. I had made her a simple set of armor last night with [Tailoring] made out of basilisk hide, which is a sturdy lightweight material with well-balanced physical and magical defenses. It's not the best material I have, but I'll be making her better armor once [Tailoring] is a higher level and there's no need to use my best materials now. I only used the basilisk hide because I finally got [Tailoring] over level 50 and could finally use magical animal hides and leather.</p><p>Revealing Yua's new form had been entertaining. Breakfast had been entertaining overall actually. I made the same thing I did the day before, but what was entertaining was the reactions of the people that entered the room. Atsuko, Aika, and Kiba acted normally, but the others had different reactions to seeing me.</p><p>Rias started to blush slightly as soon as she saw me, but it was subtle and she got over it quickly. Akeno spent more time than usual during breakfast looking at me, and she'd wink whenever our eyes met. Asia was the opposite and seemed to be avoiding looking at me, and she blushed slightly whenever I spoke to her. Koneko glared at me when she entered the room, but was quickly distracted by the food and seemed to forget why she was mad at me.</p><p>All of this was no doubt the result of [Erotic Dreams]. Before going to bed last night, I made sure to cast it on each and every one of the girls, just as I had the night before. But this morning I actually got some reactions. My best guess as to why I got reactions now and not before was that the first time they had been immediately distracted by the banquet of food. That or last time they hadn't received a massage from me right before going to bed. Both of those probably contributed. And for Asia specifically, she caught quite the eyeful last night. I wonder how much that affected her dream?</p><p>I'd also used [Void Sight] to find Sona and use it on her too. I couldn't interact with her directly, I didn't have that much spare time during this training, but I could lay the foundation now. She's already crushing on me, and if I can turn that interest into something lewder, then all the better.</p><p>After breakfast though I had summoned Yua and explained what had happened. Or rather, I came up with a plausible-sounding story on the spot to explain it. Something about her magic developing to the point where she couldn't keep growing as a cat, so our connection forced her to grow into something more. It was more or less true, just lacking any details that hinted at the true extent of my abilities.</p><p>There was mostly shock from the ones that had been Devils for a while, but Atsuko, Aika, and Asia just accepted my words at face value and fawned over Yua, who purred at the attention she was getting. The others tried asking questions, but I mostly played dumb.</p><p>I'd already had to do the same act last night when Momo called. After Yua came back and went to sleep with Kyu again I had gotten a call from her. She was pretty calm, but understandably confused about Yua's new state. I explained what I could, keeping things vague, and that seemed to be enough for her.</p><p>We then spent another hour just chatting. I hadn't spent any time with her recently, what with how busy I've been, and it was nice to just chat with her. I was tempted to teleport to her and hang out, but even while on the phone with her I couldn't rest.</p><p>I spent my entire night making cloaks and making potions. I made enough cloaks to push my [Tailoring] to 50, where I then made the armor for Yua, but after that, I moved on to potions. I didn't need to grind [Alchemy] anymore, but what I did need to stock up on potions. And stock up on potions I did.</p><p>100 Ultimate Health Potions, 100 Ultimate Restoration Potions, 100 Ultimate Regeneration Potions, 100 Ultimate Energy Potions, 25 Ultimate XP Potions, 50 Cure Status Potions, 25 Cure Sickness Potions, 25 Cure Debility Potions, and 25 Cure Curse Potions. 550 Potions in total.</p><p>It was probably one of my most productive nights. I'm now down to just 4 vials, but I can buy more later.</p><p>Besides, Atsuko, Aika, and Asia are currently using the Ultimate XP potions I had made. I didn't have enough ingredients to make XP potions for all of them, but it's the three of them that need them the most, so they can catch up in strength to the others. I guess Asia doesn't <em>really</em> need them, since her level doesn't count towards my quest completion. But I'm fine with spoiling her a bit. I want her to be as strong as the others.</p><p>We've made good time through the rest of the Forest dungeon. They had no problems with the bears and spriggans, and the only problem they've had with the bees so far is hitting them, and that's limited only to the melee users without fancy options like Kiba. So I've been taking the time to enchant some cloaks while I keep an eye on them.</p><p>Unlike [Tailoring] or [Alchemy], I don't need a workstation and a setup for [Enchanting]. I just need to fill catalysts with mana and a spell, and then put the catalyst into an object. Which is something I can do easily while just standing around.</p><p>The main problem is catalysts. I know I've leveled up the skill incredibly fast, but it doesn't feel like it. I want the skill maxed out already, or at least high enough to make Ultimate Enchantments because I feel like I can't enjoy the results of it until I reach that level. I can't enchant my best gear because it would just waste the slot when I could have a better enchantment soon.</p><p>I've picked up a few more catalysts from drops here, but it's still not nearly enough to enchant all the cloaks I've made. Still, I can't complain too much. Most of them are used to make more cloaks with Moderate Fortify Stealth enchantments, but I'm pleased to note that that's enough to get [Enchanting] to level 50, unlocking Major enchantments. Using the Major Fortify Stealth enchantments on the wool cloaks led to a new item.</p><p>
  <strong>Shadow Cloak<br/>Become one with the shadows when hiding while wearing this cloak</strong>
</p><p>Between making those and disenchanting the Rock of Returning I've had for a while and a self-repairing sword made of wood I got as loot, [Enchanting] reached level 52 by the time we entered the clearing with the Queen Bee.</p><p>"Alright, since the mages had some fun with the small fry, I want the melee fighters to focus on the queen bee," I call out to them. "Mages, keep focusing on the small bees so the melee fighters can focus on the big girl."</p><p>"We have to fight her?" Atsuko asks as the Queen Bee rises from her nest. "But she's so pretty!"</p><p>The Queen lets out an enraged cry and rushes for us.</p><p>"Pretty and wants to kill you!" I shout back at her. "Remember, she's a fake monster. Don't hesitate to attack no matter how pretty she is." The fight has started now, and things are growing hectic, but I keep lecturing. "You'll have to fight against Riser's peerage as well, and that's filled with nothing but cute girls. So consider this practice."</p><p>Atsuko doesn't look happy about it, but she's not hesitating either, each swing of her ax is intended to kill or seriously injure the Queen. Good.</p><p>As the seven of them work together to fight the boss, I look on in approval. Already they're putting on a much better show than they did yesterday. I can't wait to see what they look like by the end of the training.</p><hr/><p>As the others go to start their individual training, I take a moment to pause. Our dungeon run got me two Gacha tokens, and there's no point in sitting on either of them. So I go ahead and use both.</p><p>
  <strong>Mana Battery<br/>A gem that can store up to 1 million MP. 10 MP must be spent for every 1 MP stored, but MP drained is at a 1 to 1 ratio.</strong>
</p><p>Useful. I immediately disenchant it. This will help with some future projects and giving my girls more MP to play with.</p><p>
  <strong>Companion Gem(Wilhelm van Astrea)<br/>Crush to summon Wilhelm van Astrea to your side. Does not bind them to you, use at your own risk.</strong>
</p><p>Just yesterday I was wishing for a sword teacher, and now one just drops in my lap. Is this the result of my high LUK stat? Or is the Game helping me out? Or is this just normal luck? Either way, I'm grateful. I was waiting for a bigger place to live before I started using my companion gems, but this one I can probably summon now. There's another bedroom here, and Serafall is working on my larger home now. Besides, I have a good excuse for him appearing now.</p><p>Making up my mind I [Void Travel] a distance away for some privacy. There's a deserted camping area a few miles away from the resort, and it should be out of the detection range of anyone.</p><p>Part of the reason I haven't used any of my companion gems is that I've been nervous about doing so. So far, all of the people I've gotten companion gems for have been extremely powerful, and I have no idea what their reaction will be if I summon them.</p><p>Wilhelm van Astrea is also powerful, and an extremely talented swordsman, but he's also by far the least dangerous of the gems I've acquired and the least likely to attack me without warning. And at the end of the day, he's just a swordsman, and I have enough skills and tricks that I'm confident I can defeat him, or at least escape him.</p><p>Hopefully, it won't come to that though. Wilhelm van Astrea is one of the most badass butlers in anime, and I don't want to fight him. And if I can get him to agree to teach Kiba and Asia sword fighting, then they'll be set.</p><p>Making sure I'm ready, I pull out the companion gem and crush it.</p><p>A pillar of light appears in front of me, but it quickly fades to reveal the figure standing inside of it. Wilhelm van Astrea is an old man, but he carries it well. He's dressed in a fine suit fitting a butler and he's standing with a straight back, his arms crossed behind him.</p><p>His eyes instantly flick around, taking note of our surroundings. They acknowledge me briefly and move on before. "I see," he says in a low but clear voice.</p><p>He doesn't seem aggressive, but I use [Observe] on him to get an idea of how strong he is.</p><p><strong>Wilhelm van Astrea<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 362<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 9,750<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 3,160<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 25,000<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 325<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 625<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 982<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 158<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 204<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 188<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 125</strong></p><p>I definitely underestimated him, his DEX is even higher than mine. But it's not by much, and his other stats are much less scary. Even if he's faster than me, I still have [Void Travel], so I can get away if I need to. But judging by his demeanor, I don't think it'll come to that.</p><p>"Hey there," I say casually. "You might be confused right now but-"</p><p>"There's no need to explain," he says with a raised hand. "You have already explained the basics to me."</p><p>What? "What do you mean?" I ask, brow furrowing.</p><p>"I'm limited in what I can tell you, but I'll explain what I can," he says. "In the past, you helped me with an important goal of mine, and when asked why, you told me that you were repaying a debt."</p><p>I frown. "That shouldn't even be possible," I murmur. I've only been 'Axton' for a few weeks, and I certainly haven't been to Re:Zero.</p><p>"That is because of, to quote yourself, 'time shenanigans'," he stated.</p><p>"Ah," I say. That explains it. "So you know a future version of me then," I say.</p><p>"That is correct," he says. His face is hard to read, but with [Empathy] I get a vague sense of...pride and satisfaction? "Your older self said that you summoned me in order to assist you, so when he found himself in my world, he did all that he could to assist me as well."</p><p>"But the version of you that was summoned is the version of you from after that point," I conclude.</p><p>"Indeed," Wilhelm confirms. "By my time, you left not long ago to a new world to continue your adventure, but not before explaining things to me."</p><p>I sigh. "Is this going to happen with every companion I summon?" I ask out loud.</p><p>"No," Wilhelm answers. "According to you, I am unique in that regard."</p><p>"At least there's that," I mumble before standing up straight and looking at Wilhelm with a more serious expression. "Okay, so I'm guessing future me said not to tell me certain things, so what <em>can</em> you tell me?"</p><p>"I am not aware of much," he says. "I know nothing of what you did before you came to my world, you never spoke of it in detail. I only know what you did in mine, which I promised you I wouldn't tell you."</p><p>"Let me guess," I interrupt. "When you asked why all I said was 'spoilers' and refused to elaborate."</p><p>"You looked quite pleased to say it," Wilhelm confirms. "But this is what I was told to tell you. First, in terms of companions, you need not worry. Anyone summoned like I have been has agreed to be summoned. They may require negotiation or convincing to join you, but none of them will arrive against their will."</p><p>I let out a sigh of relief. "Good, good. I have summon gems for some scary people."</p><p>"Second, do not stress too much over what is to come, but do not let your guard down either," he continues. "Remember what is important to you, and why you do the things you do, and don't abandon that in fear of what you might lose."</p><p>I frown. "Is that how I phrased it?" I ask. He nods. "How vague," I grumble. What's important to me, huh? The first thing that comes to mind is my girls. And that's really the only thing that comes to mind. The rest of this world could burn for all I care, so long as they were safe and happy.</p><p>So abandoning them out of fear of losing them...I can sorta see it happen. Even now, it had happened a little. I've been prioritizing gaining strength over spending time with my girls. But that's because of the prophetic dream I had of Kokabiel.</p><p>I suppose that's what the advice from future me means though. I need to make sure to balance spending time with my girls and getting new girls alongside gaining strength and preparing for the things to come. Either one gets unbalanced, and my work becomes meaningless.</p><p>"Alright," I eventually say. "I think I get what my future self meant. Though now I'm wondering if that's advice born from his mistakes or if it's just the advice of his future self that he's parroting back to me." I chuckle. "Talk about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps."</p><p>"I'm afraid I cannot say which one it is," he answers. "But there is one more thing you asked me to tell you. This one I understand even less, so I shall do my best to repeat what you said verbatim."</p><p>He clears his throat and stands up straighter. "The Void is far more than you're aware of. It is more nuanced and more omnipresent than you've realized. Think about the Void, everything that it encompasses, and all of the shapes you've seen it in. Be careful with it, but do not be scared of it. You have a connection to it, lean into that. Don't give yourself to the Void though, take control over it instead."</p><p>"More advice with potentially no origin," I say with a sigh. "I don't think I'll figure it out right now either, but I'll keep it in mind." I've just barely begun to explore what the Void is. Thinking about the different shapes of it is actually very helpful though. Because the Void from Warframe is very different from Void in Destiny or even the Void here. I'm not sure what it means to 'take control' over the Void, but that does sound infinitely better than being controlled by it.</p><p>"So what is future me like?" I ask. "How badass is he?"</p><p>Wilhelm smiles. "He was a formidable fighter and a talented mage, but where he truly shined was his ability to gather information and his affection for his companions. Anything more specific I'm afraid I cannot say."</p><p>"Right, right. Spoilers," I repeat. "Whatever. So, if I didn't tell you anything about my past, then I'll probably need to catch you up on what's going on here."</p><p>"That would be appreciated," he says with a nod.</p><p>"The short of it is that this world is very different from yours," I start explaining. I explain the difference in how widespread the knowledge of magic is, of the disparate technology levels, and the three main factions.</p><p>"Different world, different situations," I say. "The Devils here are nothing like what you call devils in your world. I won't say that they're all good, but rather they have just as much capacity for good and evil as humans, though with a culture that emphasizes the right of the strong to rule. Recently anyways. A couple thousand years ago things were different, but a great war between the three main factions and then a civil war within the Devil's ranks has caused a lot of things to change. The point is, judge them individually as you would a human, not as a race."</p><p>"That will not be a problem," he answers. "I knew going into this that I would see things that did not fit with what I know. I'm prepared to adapt to the situation."</p><p>"Great," I say. I wasn't too worried about him freaking out over the Devils, but I wanted to make sure. "At the current time, I'm currently working to train a group of devils to prepare them for an important battle, one where the leader of the group is fighting to not be forced into a marriage with a despicable man. This is important to me mostly because two of my lovers are part of her group, and they wouldn't be free from his clutches in the case of her marriage to him."</p><p>"I will assist in any way I can," he says with a serious tone.</p><p>"I'm glad to hear it," I reply. "Unfortunately, it's not a case where you or I can step in directly and solve her issues. The game in which she'll fight against her fiancé is one where only Devils who are part of her Peerage, her group, can participate. That is why I'm training them instead. Riser, her fiancé, isn't a threat to me. Even you could take him on. You may struggle with his regeneration, but the right weapon would negate that."</p><p>I shake my head and get back on topic. "Anyway. One of her Peerage members can create any sword he can imagine. I'm working with him to expand how many kinds of swords he can make, but I don't know anything about swordsmanship. Which is where you come in. I need you to focus on improving his swordsmanship. It's not like it's bad right now, but he's still young and has room to improve."</p><p>"Very well, I shall do this for you," he says. "Is that all?"</p><p>"No, there's another who wants to learn the sword," I say. "She will definitely need more guidance than Kiba, the other sword user. She's a healer, but recently she's been discontent with only healing. She's a total beginner and is struggling to learn, but she's determined to do it, no matter how many times I tell her she doesn't need to."</p><p>"I see," he says. "I shall do my best to teach her as well, for as long as she is willing."</p><p>"Thank you," I say. "She's not a Devil either though, and can't participate in the Rating Game, so for now, she's a lower priority than Kiba." I look around. "That should be all you need right now. Come on, let's go talk with Rias, the Devil I'm helping. I'll introduce you to everyone and we'll get you a room where we're staying."</p><p>"Very well," he answers. "Will you be teleporting us?"</p><p>"It's more convenient," I say with a shrug. He nods in acceptance, and I place a hand on his shoulder as we step forward, traveling to where Rias is training.</p><hr/><p>I explained things to Rias about how Wilhelm is a friend of a friend I invited to help out and introduced him to everyone. When I was doing so, I realized that First Impressions never went off for him. Which led me to check his Affection and I discovered that it's already maxed out and I have two perks from him already.</p><p>
  <strong>[Master of the House] - Increases Affection gain with butlers by 20%</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Monte Cristo's Mantle] - Deal extra damage against those who have wronged you</strong>
</p><p>Two free perks just for summoning a guy is pretty nice, though I wonder why I never got a notification for them. Is it because I already earned them? Or I will have already earned them? Ugh, time travel. Whatever, I'm not gonna worry about it and just be grateful for the perks. After introducing Wilhelm to everyone we split up, but Wilhelm and I follow Kiba to his training spot.</p><p>"As I said earlier, this guy will be helping you hone your swordsmanship," I tell Kiba. "For today, that's what I want you to focus on. Use your normal swords for now, but experiment with different kinds, see which are more effective against him." Kiba nods. "He'll also be training Asia. When he is, I want you to work on this list." I pull out a piece of paper from my inventory and hand it to him.</p><p>"What is this?" he asks as he looks over it.</p><p>"A list of fictional swords and a description of their functions that I believe you may be able to reproduce, at least to some extent," I say. "I spent some time last night putting it together. I've separated it into three different categories. Swords you should definitely be able to make with some work, swords that might be tricky but I believe are doable in time, and swords that might not be possible but would be very helpful if you can manage it. This will also help you explore the limits of your Sacred Gear."</p><p>He looks over the list some more before looking back at me with a smile. "Thank you, Axton. For the teacher, the list, and all the work you're putting into helping us."</p><p>I wave him off. "Don't mention it. Thank me by kicking Riser's ass and preventing him from getting his grubby hands on Rias and you guys."</p><p>He nods. "I will. I won't let him touch Rias."</p><p>I clap my hand on his shoulder. "Good," I nod at Wilhelm. "I'll leave him in your hands. I'll be around if you need anything, including stamina restoring potions."</p><p>"I shall let you know if we need any assistance," Wilhelm says. "But I believe we have all we need for now. I will not push him too hard for this session."</p><p>"I'll leave it up to your expertise," I agree with a nod. Seeing that they are both fine, I [Void Travel] away to help the next person.</p><hr/><p>Dodging the barrage of projectiles from Aika is actually pretty helpful for honing my ability to sense magic without using a skill. Since I'm doing this without any skills and her ability to direct her missiles is good enough that she can come at me from every angle at once, I can't rely purely on my sight and have to try to feel for the magic.</p><p>She's also to the point where she can spam dozens of tiny darts of shadow in a second, using them to box me in and cut off avenues of escape. She hasn't managed it yet, but it's getting trickier and trickier as time goes on and she gets smarter about the placement. The only reason it hasn't happened yet is that I'm faster than her projectiles and can always run backward away from her to avoid them, but since my goal is to touch her to arouse her, I do need to approach her.</p><p>As I dodge another barrage of darts, I notice a gap that I can just barely squeeze through. Seizing the opportunity I slip through it and escape her net. Not wasting the chance, I dash towards her, [Touch of Pleasure] at the ready. I feel her magic swell as she summons more darts but I dash past her, turning around to get at her back.</p><p>And I'm promptly hit in the face with a dark missile.</p><p>"Ha!" Aika cheered at my surprised expression. "I got you!"</p><p>"You-" I started, shaking my head. I check my HP, but whatever damage was done is already healed. Instead, I turn to her. "How? You had just cast forward."</p><p>"I cast that one ages ago," she explains. "But instead of letting it fly I held on to it and kept it still really close to me. But it wouldn't do any good unless you got close. So I tricked you into approaching by leaving a gap. And I knew you would go for my back because you almost <em>always </em>go for my back, so as soon as I lost sight of you just now I let it fly behind me, and it totally got you!"</p><p>"So you tricked me into a trap that you set by utilizing a level of control over your magic I didn't know you had and predicting my movements?" I summarize.</p><p>"Yep!" she responds cheerily.</p><p>I rush up to her and pull her into my arms before kissing her. "I'm so fucking proud of you," I tell her, and she giggles.</p><p>"Did I earn my reward?" she asks.</p><p>"Oh for sure," I say. "Not right now, I'll reward you properly during your massage. For now, I want you to keep training."</p><p>"And if I said I wanted you in my bed?" she asks. "That the time we have during a massage isn't enough?"</p><p>"Well in that case," I respond in a teasing voice. "You'll have to hit me again, but this time I won't be holding back."</p><p>"Wha-" she starts, but it turns into a moan as I use [Touch of Pleasure] on her. "Youuuuuu!" she yells and I laugh as I [Void Travel] away to the other side of the clearing. She's so much fun to tease.</p><hr/><p>I [Void Travel] to Asia to find her swinging a wooden sword. "How's the training going?" I ask her.</p><p>She turns around with a smile. "Axton!" she greets me cheerfully, slightly out of breath. I can see sweat dripping down her face. "It's going okay, I think. Mr. Astrea said that even if the sword I use is weightless I should build up my arm strength with a training sword. So he got Kiba to make me one and I've been swinging it a bunch."</p><p>"I can see that," I say as I pull out a bottle of water and offer it to her. "Why don't you take a break? We can talk a bit while you rest."</p><p>She gratefully takes the water. "A break sounds nice," she agrees as she opens up the bottle. We sit down in the grass and watch the sun crawl towards the horizon as Asia catches her breath.</p><p>"You did pretty good in the dungeon this morning," I comment. "Controlling the plants like that is a pretty advanced use of the skill I showed you, but you picked it up really quickly." That's my story for why she can do it at least. Telling her it's difficult is also a valuable boost to her confidence.</p><p>She smiles. "I'm glad I can help like this, without hurting anyone." I smile back at her and pat her on the head, though as she leans into it, it goes from being a simple pat to me running my fingers through her hair. We fall into a comfortable silence like this.</p><p>"You know," I say as I continue playing with her hair. "It's just now occurred to me that this whole training camp thing delayed your school debut. Sorry about that."</p><p>She shakes her head. "It's fine. You're helping Ms. Gremory out. I don't mind delaying things a little bit to help someone in need."</p><p>"You're such a nice and kind girl," I compliment her. "You're gonna love school. I talked to Sona and got you into the same class as me, Atsuko, and Aika. It'll be all four of us, the A-Team, enjoying our school life together."</p><p>"I can't wait," she says happily. "Though I'm a little nervous too."</p><p>"Don't worry too much, we'll be there for you," I assure her.</p><p>"I know you will," she responds. She quiet for a moment, but I can feel nervousness radiating from her. "Can I ask you a question?" she asks.</p><p>"If I can answer it, I will," I respond, curious.</p><p>"Aika and Atsuko are both your girlfriends, right?"</p><p>Not what I expected, but I'll go with the flow. "I love both of them and they're both in a relationship with me, yes. And two more girls I haven't properly introduced to you yet. Momo, that white-haired girl that we met at the airport and who Yua calls 'Mama', and another girl who is in Sona's peerage called Ruruko."</p><p>"And everyone is okay with that?" Asia asks.</p><p>"I've been very upfront about things and everyone has agreed," I say. "I love them and they love me, and so long as everyone is happy, I see no reason to not remain true to my feelings."</p><p>She tilts her head. "What do you mean by remaining true to your feelings?"</p><p>"I mean exactly what I said," I explain. "I love them all. Just because normally people only pick one person to love at a time doesn't mean I'm going to limit myself to that. I love them, and I won't ignore those feelings if I don't have to. It makes me and those around me happier if I acknowledge my feelings and listen to them."</p><p>"Don't ignore those feelings…" she repeats, trailing off as she gets lost in thought. "Have there been any girls that haven't been okay with it yet?"</p><p>"No, not yet," I say. "There are some girls I'm interested in but I don't know how they feel. Even if I'm being honest with myself, it can be scary to try to figure out the feelings of others."</p><p>Ugh. This conversation is getting too sappy for my tastes. But I have a pretty good idea of why Asia is asking these questions, and my heart pounds in excitement. This is a crucial turning point in my plan for 'corrupting' Asia, and I'm very carefully leading her along the path I want.</p><p>"How do you do it?" she asks. "How do you figure out if your feelings are reciprocated?"</p><p>"Well, if you're good at figuring out people, you can usually pick up hints in how they talk to you and the way they act around you. But those can be unreliable. The best way is to just wait for a good moment and just confess. It's scary, but it's like ripping off a bandaid. You just gotta do it and get it over with. Carrying around that doubt and anxiety for too long can hurt worse than rejection."</p><p>"I see," she murmurs, staring at the setting sun as she thinks. [Empathy] continues to pick up nervousness from her, but it's muddled with a slew of other emotions that are too minor and too mixed together for me to decipher.</p><p>I don't say anything more and just wait for her to process her own emotions. I've done what I can, and I can only hope that it's enough. But if she doesn't confess to me here, then I'll have to confess to her. Which would be fine, but I want as many of her actions as possible to be of her own initiative.</p><p>As the sky turns from orange to purple, I feel her emotions finally start to stabilize, and she suddenly stands up. She takes a couple steps away and then turns to face me head-on. The last rays of the setting sun perfectly silhouette her as she looks at me with a determined expression.</p><p>I smile calmly at her, trying to encourage her without saying anything, and I think some of that gets through because she relaxes a little bit.</p><p>"I love you," she says, voice nervous but determined. "I've only known you for a short while, but even in that time you've done more for me than anyone else ever has. You've made me happier and more fulfilled than I ever knew I could be. I wasn't sure how to feel about you having multiple lovers, but I don't want to ignore these feelings anymore, and I refuse to believe that something that can make so many people happy is wrong."</p><p>Her fists are clenched and her chest is heaving slightly as she recovers from her little speech, but her eyes are locked on mine.</p><p>I stand up and step towards her, a smile on my face. I can still feel nervousness from her, but there's hope there as well.</p><p>Asia is a good head shorter than me, so I have to lean down slightly to put us properly face to face, and even then she has to look a little upwards, but it's good enough. Finally, with our faces less than a foot apart, I give her an answer.</p><p>"I love you too," is all I say, and I see the joy blossom across her face before I lean in further and kiss her. Dully I sense another jumble of emotions from her, but they're mostly positive and I focus on the feeling of her soft lips against mine as she embraces me and starts kissing me back.</p><p>I don't push things too far, keeping tongues out of it, and instead settle for just locking our lips together. After what feels simultaneously like an eternity and no time at all, I pull back. Asia is breathing hard and her face is flushed, but on her face is an expression of pure bliss.</p><p>"I'm really happy you told me that," I say to her. "I've loved you since the first day I met you, but you were still adjusting to so much and I wanted to give you time to settle."</p><p>She hugs me tighter. "Thank you. Both for waiting for my feelings to settle, and for returning them. I've never felt this happy before."</p><p>"Hopefully I can make you feel even happier and happier as time goes on," I say, running my fingers through her soft hair again as we embraced. "You and all of the other girls that I love."</p><p>She nods into my chest but doesn't say anything. For a moment I worry that mentioning the other girls was the wrong move at this point in time, but [Empathy] doesn't pick up anything negative from her, just a lot of joy, love, and relief.</p><p>"You know," I start conversationally. "I have a bit before I have to start preparing dinner. And we have a little privacy here." I lean back down and kiss her again, just a quick peck on her lips. "If you want, I'd like to spend some time showing how much I care about you." I kiss her again, a little deeper this time, and I also activate [Touch of Pleasure] on its lowest setting.</p><p>I can see her blushing as I pull back, but she just nods with a small embarrassed smile on her face. I guide her back to the bench we were sitting on and sit down, pulling her into my lap, where she sits with her legs across mine instead of spread, something her robes wouldn't have allowed anyways unless they were pulled up.</p><p>With one hand on her leg just above her knee and another on her back, I pull her in for another kiss. With her on my lap like this, her head is now perfectly level with my own, and our lips meet easily and comfortably. She wraps her own arms around my neck and eagerly returns the kiss.</p><p>As we kiss, occasionally breaking contact briefly before kissing again, I slowly raise the strength of [Touch of Pleasure] and use [Erotic Pierrot] as well. Before long she's squirming slightly, which is when I decide to escalate things and I slip my tongue into her mouth.</p><p>She seems surprised at first, but she doesn't seem to dislike it. She opens her mouth slightly for me, trusting me to see what I do. She picks up on things pretty quickly though, and it only takes a bit of encouragement before she's tentatively responding with her own tongue.</p><p>Her technique is sloppy, but that's pretty much what I expected from the cute little nun. I spend our time making out slowly and subtly guiding her, teaching her how to kiss better. Asia might be innocent, but she's also a fast learner, and half an hour later when we finally stopped making out, you never would have guessed she had never kissed anyone before today.</p><p>She breathes heavily as we separate, catching her breath. The sun has fully set now, and stars shine above us as a slight chill begins to fill the air. Out of curiosity, I check Asia with [Lewd Scouter]</p><p><strong>Asia Argento<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 100<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Kissing</strong></p><p>I'm always surprised to see kissing listed as a fetish, but based on her arousal and her expression right now, I suppose it fits. And I'm glad to see her perversion so high now.</p><p>"As much as I would love to continue this, I do need to start making dinner now," I say, my tone equal parts regret and teasing. "If you'd like, you can join us in the bath again tonight, and we can pick it back up again there."</p><p>She blushes, her entire face turning red. "Continue?" she squeaks out.</p><p>"We won't do anything you're not comfortable with," I reassure her. "We don't even have to kiss, we can just relax in the bath. But I'd like it if you would join us."</p><p>She relaxes some, the blush mostly fading away. She nods. "Okay."</p><p>I smile at her. "I'm looking forward to it. But for now, dinner."</p><p>She nods but doesn't move. I look at her, waiting for her to figure it out. At first, she just looks at me, confused, but when I indicate down, pointing out that she's on my lap, it clicks and she scrambles off of me.</p><p>I stand up and pat her on the head. "Why don't you get a little more training in since we got distracted? I'll let you know when dinner is ready." She nods and picks up the wooden sword that she had left leaning against the bench.</p><p>I [Void Travel] away as she starts swinging her sword again. That entire thing went so much better than I dared to hope.</p><hr/><p>Once again, Aika is the first person in the massage room after Kiba leaves. And I don't need my skills to tell me it's not a massage she's interested in.</p><p>"Go ahead and lay down on the table," I instruct her. She opens her mouth to say something, but I continue, stopping her. "Face up," I say with a wink. "I haven't forgotten your reward."</p><p>She grins and flings her towel away before hopping on the table, legs casually spread. But I ignore the invitation and move to the other side of the table. She looks at me confused as I stop near her head and remove my clothes.</p><p>"Scoot upwards for me," I instruct her. She does so, continuing until I tell her to stop, and it's only as she lays back down, her head dangling off the table slightly, that I see realization cross her face, and I can feel her arousal spike.</p><p>"Ever since I had you on this table yesterday I wanted to try this," I admit as my dick hardens and I position myself. "But I had to stick to what I said. And today, you succeeded, so you get your reward, and it means I can finally do <em>this</em>."</p><p>As I say that last word, I line myself up with her mouth and slowly shove my entire cock down her throat. At this angle, I slide in easily, like it's her pussy instead of her throat.</p><p>I can feel Aika's tongue immediately start moving and I feel my balls brush against her face as I nearly hilt myself in her mouth. I'd be worried if it weren't for the joy and arousal I could feel from her with [Empathy]. But since she's enjoying it, I let myself enjoy it as well.</p><p>I've gotten blowjobs from Aika before. I've gotten blowjobs from several girls actually, but Aika is usually the most eager to give them, and she enjoys it the most. She's the only one to regularly take my full length into her throat, and certainly the only human to have done so. But this is the first time it's happened since she turned into a Devil, and the feeling is definitely different.</p><p>I slowly pull my hips backward a few inches before thrusting back into her mouth. Vaginal sex feels like pushing your dick into something inviting but tight and warm. It wants you there, and you belong there, but even then it tries to push you out with its tightness, which only increases the pleasure.</p><p>Aika's throat, with her a Devil and positioned like this, is different. It's not as tight and doesn't feel like it's welcoming me in, but the texture is completely different in a very nice way, and that's before counting her tongue.</p><p>I feel her moan around my shaft, which causes her throat to vibrate slightly as well. In response, I speed up my thrusting slightly, truly fucking her throat now.</p><p>I can feel her arousal building, and I see her hands move. One moves to grope her own breast while the other moves down to her pussy, pleasuring herself as I face fuck her. The sight of it is incredible, especially with the way her boobs bounce as I ram my cock into her mouth.</p><p>I can feel the air as she desperately breathes through her nose, and it's getting stronger by the second, the method obviously not providing enough air. And as it does, I feel another emotion from her. Panic mixed with ecstasy that continues to rise alongside her arousal and breathing.</p><p>Her throat, her tongue, her moaning, and the sight of her masturbating is all too much for me. I speed up my thrusts before thrust deep one last time and cum, shooting my load deep into her throat. I hold my dick there for a moment, making sure every last drop goes down her throat.</p><p>As I do so, her own arousal spikes and she climaxes, her back arching, though her head is held in place by my dick. It's only after her own orgasm finishes that I pull my still hard cock out of her throat.</p><p>She gasps for air as I do so, coughing a few times. "Holy shit," she says, out of breath.</p><p>"That was just as good as I was hoping it would be," I comment.</p><p>"That was better than I imagined it could have been," Aika says. "Did turning into a Devil make my throat into an erogenous zone?"</p><p>I laugh. "Maybe? According to Momo, Devils have 'lewd bodies'. Which at the time she brought up to explain how she could so easily take my entire dick easily with little to no prep. But there are probably more changes."</p><p>She rolls over onto her front. "That was great, but it left me worn out."</p><p>I glance at the time and check with [Void Detect]. "Well, we got done with it pretty quick, so I have enough time to give you a quick massage."</p><p>"If you don't mind, that'd feel wonderful right now," she says, and I get to work. I go easy on the lewd skills, though I still use them.</p><p>"So guess what happened today?" I ask as I work on her back.</p><p>"Asia finally confessed?" Aika guesses.</p><p>"Yep," I confirm. "And then we spent like half an hour making out. I think the bath thing worked out really well last night. She may have run away, but her secretly watching us seems to have done something to lower her inhibitions by a good amount."</p><p>"I thought she had confessed," Aika says. "She kept looking at you and smiling during dinner, and then she'd blush and look around to see if anyone noticed."</p><p>"She's so cute," I say. "Make sure she comes with you to the bath tonight too. I don't think she'll run today."</p><p>"Are you going to seduce her tonight?" Aika asks.</p><p>"Probably not tonight, though we'll see," I say. "But I'm sure it'll be soon. I have a few ideas on how to get her there. Unfortunately, none of them really benefit from outside help. Just make sure that if she talks to you about me and sexual stuff that you emphasize the love aspects of it."</p><p>"Got it," she agrees. "I don't suppose her first time is gonna be as part of the group?"</p><p>"Probably not," I guess. "With her personality, and how I'm handling things, an intimate one-on-one is probably the better play there. But after that, I think roping her into some group action is definitely on the table."</p><p>"I can live with that," she says. "We still need to get with Momo and Ruruko, have a big group thing."</p><p>"After this Rating Game we should have some time, we'll schedule something then. I'm working on getting a bigger place too, so we won't have to try to fit half a dozen people into my tiny apartment."</p><p>"Ooh, exciting," she says, laughing. "Axton's moving up in the world."</p><p>"You don't know the half of it," I laugh. I finish up her massage. "But I'll explain everything later, I can't do anything until after the Rating Game anyways."</p><p>She sits up, sitting with her legs hanging off the table. "You tease," she jokingly pouts. "Now I'm gonna be wondering what it is you have going on."</p><p>I laugh. "You'll just have to live with that mystery for a while." I step up to her and place my hands on her waist before kissing her. "If it weren't for the fact that I'm pretty sure Akeno is going to be here soon, I'd fuck you right here, just like this." I press my still hard dick against her stomach. "But it'll have to wait I guess. There's no rush."</p><p>"At least I'm not the only one leaving here with something unfulfilled," she teases with a small laugh. She pushes against me and I back off a step so she can get off the table and wrap her towel around herself. "I'll see you after you're done then, and maybe we'll help you out a little more," she says with a wink before opening the door.</p><p>As Aika leaves I put my clothes back on and make sure everything is clean. Akeno arrives a minute or so after Aika leaves and disrobes almost immediately. Honestly, I'm a little surprised she didn't just walk in here naked considering the way she left last night.</p><p>"Looks like Aika did well in her training today," Akeno comments as she lays down on the table.</p><p>"What makes you say that?" I ask.</p><p>"You're still hard," she says, turning to smirk at me. Or more specifically, and the visible tent in my pants. It's not distractingly obvious, but if you look at my crotch it's easy enough to tell that I've got a boner. "Also, it smells like sex in here. It's not strong, but it's definitely there."</p><p>"I guess it's a pretty small room," I admit. "It would make sense that the smell sticks around. Don't worry, I made sure everything was clean before you got here." I pour some normal massage oil onto her back and start working, using [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] on low levels to increase the effect of [Massage].</p><p>She lets out a sigh of relief as I start working on her back muscles, working out the kinks. "I wasn't worried about it, but others might take issue with it," she says.</p><p>"I'll light a candle or something in that case," I say as I continue to massage her. Though I probably won't. Rias and Koneko are the only other people I have to massage today that aren't already in my harem. Rias I don't care what she thinks about it and I doubt she'll even notice. Koneko is a different matter though. With her increased sense of smell, she'll definitely notice it.</p><p>Maybe I can use that? So far I've been just getting close to her, but her Affection is pretty high now, and she's receptive to head pats. Maybe it's time to start progressing that in a more physical direction.</p><p>"I think my butt has been thoroughly massaged by this point," Akeno says, dragging me back to reality. I look down to see my fingers sinking into the soft flesh of her ass cheeks, and it definitely doesn't look like massaging is what I was doing.</p><p>"Sorry about that," I apologize with a small laugh as I move on to her legs. "I was a little distracted."</p><p>"I noticed," she comments. "Did Aika not satisfy you enough?"</p><p>"We didn't have time for much," I say as I finish up one leg and move on to the next. "We'll have a bit more time later on tonight."</p><p>"Is that why the Aika, Asia, and Atsuko slipped into the bath last night after everyone else had gone to bed?" Akeno asks.</p><p>"It wasn't the original intention, not mine at least, but things did end up like that after Asia left, yes," I answer, not bothering to hide what we did. Akeno doesn't care. In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that hearing about my sex life is something she finds enjoyable. Whether it's a kink or not I can't tell. [Lewd Scouter] doesn't show any new fetishes.</p><p>"There are a lot of massages you have to do before then though," Akeno comments. "If you'd like, I could maybe help relieve the pressure a bit. I'd hate for you to get distracted and do something untoward while massaging Rias or Koneko."</p><p>I raise an eyebrow, though she can't see it due to her head being turned the other way. "If you're offering, I'll gladly take you up on the offer." I finish up her other leg. "And speaking of which, you're done."</p><p>She sighs as she sits up. "I certainly do feel more relaxed," she says as she sits facing me on the table. My eyes flick to her tits, hanging free and nipples erect. She notices me looking and grins. "Oh, I know exactly how I'll help you out. Why don't you strip for me this time, and sit down?" She indicates the simple chair against the wall.</p><p>I follow her instructions and sit down, stashing my clothes into my inventory as I do so. The plastic of the chair feels cool against my bare flesh, but not uncomfortably so. I watch as Akeno grabs the bottle of massage oil and pours some in her hands, and then on her chest. I watch, entranced, as she rubs the oil into her breasts, her fingers tracing sensual curves around them as the skin becomes glistening.</p><p>Once she's oiled up, she smiles flirtatiously at me before kneeling between my legs. If I hadn't already been hard, I would be now.</p><p>"I'm rather proud of this part of me," she says as she presses her tits together, just inches away from my throbbing erection. "Almost everyone can't help but stare, even other girls. But few have seen them naked, and you're the only one who has gotten this privilege."</p><p>With those words, she leans forward and envelops my shaft in her boobs entirely. The only reason I can see my dick at all is that it's tall enough to jut out of her cleavage. But I'm distracted from the sight by the sensations I feel.</p><p>Soft. That's the only thing I can think of. My dick is wrapped in softness. Not just her actual boobs, but even the skin in that space between her boobs is soft. And the oil on them removes nearly all of the friction between my dick and her chest, so it feels wonderful. It's not like having sex or a blowjob where the pleasure comes from the tightness.</p><p>Then she starts moving, and I can't stop my breath from hitching. I won't go so far as to say it feels better than sex, that would be a lie. But it's different, it's novel, and it does feel really good. Tingles of pleasure shoot through my erection as she moves her boobs up and down, rubbing her oiled-up skin along every inch of my dick.</p><p>She smiles at me, amusement clear in her eyes, as she enjoys the results of her handiwork. My breathing is heavy and all I can focus on is the sensation. She maintains a slow pace, drawing out my pleasure, and I can feel my climax approach, but I know at this rate it will take too long.</p><p>I thrust my hips upwards reflexively, but Akeno responds by pushing my hips down. "Now now," she chides me. "Sit still, and let me take care of it."</p><p>"But-" I start, before cutting myself off, realizing how it would sound. Unfortunately, she realizes it too, and the amusement in her eyes only grows stronger.</p><p>"But what?" she asks as she slows down her movements a little. "Is there something not to your satisfaction? If there's anything you need, all you have to do is ask."</p><p>From her expression, I can tell she knows exactly what I want. But I can also tell that I'm not getting it until I say something.</p><p>"Please go faster," I force myself to say.</p><p>Her grin widens. "See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" She speeds up her movements, and I can feel the pressure start to build again. I groan slightly as I feel my orgasm approaching. But then she stops.</p><p>"Why?" I spit out before I can even think. "I was so close."</p><p>"Oh, were you?" Akeno asks in a faux-innocent voice. "But I didn't give you permission to do that."</p><p>I stare at her, surprised for a moment before I process the situation. My desire to cum wars with the necessity of me having to ask permission for it for a moment, but it doesn't take long for me to decide. I've never been all that prideful anyway.</p><p>"I want to cum, please," I say.</p><p>"Good boy," she praises me before she starts moving again, even faster than before. The oil has removed most of the friction, making the experience smooth and slippery, but there's enough to send jolts of pleasure through the sensitive skin as it rubs against her soft and pillowy boobs.</p><p>It only takes thirty seconds of this before things reach their peak and I finally climax, hips jerking as I cum into Akeno's tits, some of it spurting high enough to reach her chin. When my orgasm finishes Akeno pulls back and spreads her boobs, showing the white and sticky mess I left between them.</p><p>"I'm going to need another bath I think," she comments as she looks down at her chest. She runs a finger through the semen, scooping some of it up before putting it into her mouth. "Though since it's chocolate flavored again, maybe I should just eat it up?"</p><p>My dick throbs in arousal in response, and it makes me glad I cast [Alter Flavor] earlier. But I ignore it for a moment. [Void Detect] just picked something up. "That depends," I answer Akeno. "Rias is going to be here in about fifteen seconds. I have a spell that can clean you up quickly if that's what you want."</p><p>She sighs. "As tempting as the idea is of teasing Rias by walking out covered in your cum, that might be a bit too much. If you wouldn't mind, I'd gladly take that cleaning spell. It's only proper that you clean up the mess you made."</p><p>"I could make the argument that it was your actions that led to the mess," I point out as I reach out to touch her shoulder before casting [Clean Body] which removes all of the mess. "But I'll be a gentleman about it instead." There's a knock on the door as Rias arrives.</p><p>"Looks like my King is here, just as you said," Akeno comments as she stands up. "Thank you very much for the massage, and I hope you enjoy your bath afterward." She winks at me before striding out the room, once again naked and uncaring.</p><p>"Great timing Rias, we had just finished up," I greet her as she enters. "Come on in and lay down, we'll get started."</p><p>Rias's massage is relatively uneventful. I increase the effect of [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] to above what it was yesterday, and I can tell she enjoys it, but I don't push things too far with her yet. There's no need. I'm sure, by the end of the Rating Game, Rias will have maxed out Affection.</p><p>Atsuko's massage is also pretty tame. I tell her about Asia's confession, and she seems pretty happy about that. I also ask her if she's interested in a 'happy ending', but she says she's too tired. She did push herself pretty hard today. Asia on the other hand surprises me by stripping down to just her panties for her massage.</p><p>"I'm glad to see you're getting more comfortable with me," I comment as she hurriedly lays down, not wanting to remain exposed. Which is a shame. The sight of her standing there, nearly naked and blushing, was extremely cute.</p><p>"It makes you happy, right?" she asks. "You like seeing me naked?"</p><p>"I do," I admit. "You're very cute, and seeing more of you only makes me love you more."</p><p>She blushes and seems too embarrassed to reply. But I can feel happiness coming from her with [Empathy] so I'm not worried. Instead, I just focus on the massage. In addition to my other touch-based skills, I also use [Erotic Pierrot] to increase her arousal. Not too much, but I want her to start associating her being naked, being touched by me, those feelings of happiness, and my declaration of love all to her arousal. Nothing will happen tonight most likely. But soon.</p><p>At the end of the massage, she isn't as quick to hide herself. In fact, it seems like she's trying to subtly show off a little, though she isn't very skilled with subtlety. Still, it's cute, and I reward her with another kiss, once that she eagerly returns.</p><p>After her is Koneko. I watch Koneko carefully as she comes in, and I see on her face the moment she smells the scent of sex. I immediately hit her with [Erotic Pierrot], though instead of the disgusted face I expected, she just looks confused. I guess she notices the smell but isn't sure what it is, which makes sense. But it's also even better for me, as there's less of a hurdle for me to get over.</p><p>The massage proceeds normally with the addition of me boosting her arousal every time she sniffs again. I can tell she's trying to figure out what the smell is, but she doesn't say anything. Which might have something to do with the fact that every time she tries to figure it out, she gets just a little hornier.</p><p>Nothing else happens, but I feel satisfied anyways. And with the massages done, I'm ready to enjoy a bath with my girls.</p><hr/><p>I'm only by myself in the bath for a few minutes before the girls arrive. They all come in at the same time, and I'm very happy to see that Asia has come naked this time. She looks a little nervous, but that only increases her appeal.</p><p>Immediately Aika and Atsuko take up the same spots they did yesterday, clinging to either side of me. I see Asia realize that she'd been too slow to claim a side and start to pout.</p><p>"There's still a spot open," I tell her, patting the space between my legs.</p><p>Her eyes widen, and she blushes as she looks. But to my delight, she seems to steel herself before she nods and gets into the bath and settles between my legs, her back to me. She's not leaning against me though, and I gently grab her shoulders and pull her back so she's leaning on me. She doesn't fight against it, and I actually feel positive emotions from her as she settles against me.</p><p>Aika and Atsuko aren't as aggressive in their skinship today. Letting Asia take the spotlight maybe? Either way, it results in a few minutes of just us relaxing. My hands eventually settle on Asia though, and I make sure that [Touch of Pleasure] and [Erotic Pierrot] are doing their thing when they do.</p><p>She starts a little bit when my arms wrap around her and my hands press against her stomach. But she quickly relaxes and presses herself back against me more, reciprocating the touch. Her head is below my chin, meaning I can't lean down and kiss her at this angle, so I settle for gently stroking the soft skin of her stomach below the water.</p><p>Nobody says anything as I continue to run my fingers along Asia, moving from her stomach to her side, moving my hands up and down. I get close to the sides of her breasts but don't actually get close enough to make her think I'm going to touch them. She shivers with pleasure at my touch though, and I can feel her arousal climbing. Which is no surprise. I've been increasing her arousal ever since she confessed and she's had no release yet, so she should be feeling pretty sensitive and riled up right about now.</p><p>I'm feeling pretty aroused myself, and it doesn't take long for my dick to harden. And due to our position, that means my dick is pressed against Asia's back.</p><p>I can tell when she notices it, which is almost immediately, because she blushes. But she doesn't comment at first, allowing me to continue teasing her.</p><p>"Umm," she eventually speaks up. "Is this something you like?"</p><p>"What do you mean?" I ask.</p><p>"I can feel your…" she trails off.</p><p>"My penis?"</p><p>She nods. "I can feel it against my back," she says. "And it gets big when boys feel good, right? So you like this?"</p><p>"I like it a lot," I answer. "I'm surrounded by three girls that I love, and we're all cuddling together naked while relaxing in a wonderful bath. And seeing you so comfortable with me and this situation makes me really happy."</p><p>I can practically feel her nervousness disappear as I say that. "I've had to learn so much since leaving the Church," she says. "Romance is one of them. I never thought I'd get a chance like this."</p><p>"How do you feel about learning something new right now?" Aika says with a grin. "Boys get hard when they feel good, but it doesn't end there."</p><p>Asia blushes as she realizes what Aika means. "I don't know if I'm ready for that," she says.</p><p>"Don't worry, we'll keep it easy," Aika insists. "And you'll just have to watch. You can do that much, right?"</p><p>Asia hesitates but eventually nods. I make sure to hit her with more [Erotic Pierrot], increasing her arousal some more.</p><p>"Sit on the edge of the bath," Aika instructs me, and the girls reposition themselves as I move. Aika ends up straddling my right leg. Asia is sitting between my legs, facing me and eyes level with my cock, which she's staring at with wide eyes. Finally, Atsuko has decided to get out of the bath entirely and is clinging to my back, her arms wrapped around my neck as her modest breasts press against my back.</p><p>"Good, now give me some of that massage oil," Aika says.</p><p>"I have actual lube that'd probably work better," I say.</p><p>"Of course you do," she says. "Yeah, that'll work." I pull a bottle out and hand it to her. She opens it and pours some on her hands before pouring more on my dick. My dick twitches as the lube comes into contact with it. Compared to the hot water of the bath, it's startlingly cold. Asia's eyes widen slightly at the sight.</p><p>Aika sets the bottle of lube to the side and wraps her hand around my shaft. "This is called a handjob," Aika says as if she's doing a presentation. She starts slowly moving her hand up and down as she continues. "It's one of the most basic ways to make a guy feel good. It can be done without lube, but it's easier and feels better with the lube. Isn't that right, Axton?"</p><p>"You need at least a little bit of lubricant," I say as tingles of pleasure shoot through me at Aika's slow handjob. "Spit can work, though once you start, I'll start producing pre-cum that can be used. Dry handjobs can be frustrating and potentially painful."</p><p>"Thankfully Axton is weirdly prepared for just about anything," Aika says.</p><p>"I have a seemingly infinite pocket space, there's no reason I shouldn't be prepared," I point out. It's difficult to hold a casual conversation like this though with what her fingers are doing to me. I don't hold back my expressions though. I want them to see how good it makes me feel. Atsuko's fingers trace small patterns on my chest where her hands are resting.</p><p>"This makes you feel good?" Asia asks while watching.</p><p>"It feels wonderful," I admit. Aika squeezes a little tighter, sending a jolt of pleasure through me. "Aika is really good at showing her love for me this way."</p><p>"This is a sign of love?" she says.</p><p>"I love Axton, and I like making him feel good," Aika answers. "And he often returns the favor."</p><p>I can see the gears turning in her head. "You make each other happy," she states. "That's what it means to be lovers."</p><p>"It doesn't have to be physical stuff like this," I admit. "But yeah. If you love someone, it's only natural you want to make them happy. And this is something that we can do that makes each other feel good, which makes us happy."</p><p>She hesitates. "Do you want me to do that too?" She's a little nervous, but there's also a hint of eagerness and curiosity in her emotions.</p><p>"It would make me really happy," I say. "Only if you're comfortable with it though. There's no rush, and you don't have to do anything you don't want to." She looks a little unsure still. "How about this? You liked when we kissed earlier, right?" She blushes slightly but nods eagerly. I pat the leg that Aika isn't straddling. "How about you come sit here and we keep doing that?"</p><p>There's a lot less hesitation this time, and I'm pretty sure the reason there's any is that it'd bring her close to where Aika is stroking me still and that we're both naked. But she does as I say and she stands up before straddling my thigh, mirroring Aika.</p><p>I take a moment to appreciate the sight of it all. Aika, naked and skin still slightly wet from the bath, her hands covered in lube as she slowly strokes my dick. Her chest is probably the biggest of the girls here, but they're still fairly modest. I've seen them a lot, but I never get tired of it. Looking downwards, I can see she's cleanly shaven, with no hint of any pubic hair. Aika smirks at me as she notices me examining her and gives me a squeeze.</p><p>On my other leg is Asia, her breasts are a little smaller than Aika's, but they're cute and I haven't seen much of them. Her skin is pale and glistening from the bathwater, and I notice that her nipples are hard. Down at her crotch, there's the hint of some light blonde-colored pubic hair. It's not very thick, and I suspect that if it weren't for the water it'd be a lot harder to notice. She blushes as she notices me looking, but doesn't protest or shy away. Instead, she leans towards me, lips puckered.</p><p>I put a hand on her waist and meet her lips with my own. This time I don't hesitate to start using my tongue, and she eagerly reciprocates. I put my other hand on Aika's waist as well and close my eyes, losing myself in just the feelings. The soft feelings under my hands, Asia's lips and tongue on my own, and Aika's hand slowly bringing me to orgasm. I can also feel both of their lower lips pressed against the bare flesh of my thigh.</p><p>I move both of my hands downwards from the girls' waists to their asses. I didn't expect a reaction from Aika, but to my surprise, Asia doesn't react either. I can't tell if she just didn't notice or if she's already accepting of this. Even when I give her a light squeeze she doesn't react.</p><p>So I decide to test my luck and move my hand from her ass to gently cup one of her boobs. She definitely notices that, and I can feel her pause. But she surprises me again by putting her hand over my own and pressing it into herself, showing me that she's okay with this.</p><p>I don't hesitate to start groping her, excited that I've made this much progress with her. But I can't rush things or lose myself in my excitement. I'm gentle and caring in my movements, making sure to make use of [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity]. Both of them together have a powerful effect on her, and I can feel as she starts grinding herself on my leg. I'm pretty sure she's doing it subconsciously without realizing what she's doing, but that almost makes it better.</p><p>Soon it all builds up and I can feel my orgasm rising. My dick twitches and Aika can obviously tell I'm close because she suddenly speeds up her movements. I groan into Asia's mouth as I clench up and cum, spurt after spurt of semen shooting from my dick as Aika continues to pump her hand, wringing every last drop from me.</p><p>I break contact with Asia and she leans back, both of us breathing heavily. My eyes widen slightly as I see her now. Aika must have aimed it because what looks like every single bit of cum from my orgasms ended up landing on Asia. Her chest, stomach, and thighs are covered. I swallow as I struggle with the urge to take her right then and there.</p><p>I must have been staring because Asia looks down at herself. "Oh," is all she says. [Empathy] mostly picks up confusion from her, and not much else. No arousal or disgust, just a girl not really sure how to handle this.</p><p>Thankfully, Aika is here to smooth things over. She casually runs a finger along Asia's stomach, collecting some of it on her fingertip before popping it into her mouth. "Sweet cream?"</p><p>"I just tried for something sweet," I say. Before I had gotten into the bath I had cast [Alter Flavor]. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I've started getting into the habit of casting the spell anytime I might have some sort of sexual encounter.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Asia asks, confused, as Aika scoops up another finger of my cum. My dick twitches as she puts it into her mouth.</p><p>"Axton has a spell that changes the flavor of his cum," Aika explains. "Normally it doesn't taste very good, at least most people think so. I don't mind it. But he can make it taste like anything." She scoops up some more and offers it to Asia. "Why don't you try some?"</p><p>Asia hesitates and looks at me. I nod at her encouragingly, because I really want this to happen. She turns back to the proffered finger and shyly licks it off. Once again I fight down the urge to ravish Asia.</p><p>"It's good!" Asia exclaims, surprised.</p><p>I open my mouth to say something, I'm not sure what, but I'm interrupted by a soft snore that suddenly comes from my shoulder. Aika, Asia, and I all pause before I turn to look at Atsuko.</p><p>Leaning on my back and arms dangling in front of me, Atsuko is fast asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. The three of us look back at each other before we all break out in laughter.</p><p>"I guess Atsuko's tired today," I say. "She did work pretty hard today. Here, let me clean everyone up." I quickly cast [Clean Body] on all four of us.</p><p>Aika pouts as the cum disappears from Asia's body, and Asia herself seems a little disappointed as well. Damn, I was too hasty. Oh well.</p><p>"You want me to get her into bed?" Aika asks as she and Asia get up from my lap.</p><p>"Nah, I can just teleport her there," I say. "I'll make sure she's dressed and tucked in."</p><p>"I guess that would be easier," Aika admits. "I guess I'll go ahead and say goodnight then." She leans down and kisses me. No tongue, just a nice simple kiss.</p><p>"Good night," I tell her. "Try to get plenty of rest for tomorrow." I look at Asia, and with no hesitation, she also kisses me.</p><p>"Good night Axton," she says with a smile on her face. I can't hold my own smile. She's come so far. Taking things slowly with her was absolutely the right move.</p><p>I gently pick Atsuko up and teleport us to her room. I quickly scrounge through her stuff to find some clothes, just a pair of panties and some pajamas, and I quickly dress her. She remains asleep the entire time, and after I tuck her in I give her a kiss on the forehead before I leave.</p><p>[Void Detect] tells me that Aika is back in her room, so I [Void Travel] there.</p><p>"Axton?" she asks, in the middle of preparing for bed.</p><p>"I know I told you to rest well," I start as I approach her and wrap my arms around her. "But that stuff with Asia has left me <em>extremely</em> horny and I think you deserve a reward."</p><p>Her eyes light up and she quickly strips out of her clothes as we move to her bed. I'll let her get to sleep relatively soon. Probably.</p><hr/><p>I arrive at the forest Dungeon and set down the cage I'm carrying. It wasn't easy to find livestock at this time of night, but I managed to track down a farm and I stole one of the chickens from there.</p><p>Why steal a chicken? I need a test subject, and it's certainly not going to be someone I care about. A chicken is much more expendable. Not that there's any real risk in what I'm experimenting with, but better safe than sorry.</p><p>The chicken, who I've decided to name Colonel Sanders because I'm unoriginal and lazy, doesn't seem to mind. It clucks softly as I set the cage down but otherwise remains still and silent. I pull out the key item I need for the first experiment, a Race Change Potion.</p><p>Ever since discovering the recipe for this potion, I've been considering how best to use it. Most of the consideration has been focused on me trying to figure out the best ingredients for it. The knowledge granted to me by [Alchemy] tells me that I have the normal limit for the number of ingredients and that the Race Change potion itself counts towards that limit, meaning I can only use four samples to craft a custom race. Though I don't have to use all four. Using less doesn't diminish the quality of the potion, but instead makes it purer.</p><p>However, [Alchemy] doesn't tell me anything about the exact effects of drinking the potion, only making it, which is why I'm here today. Race Change Potion in hand, I pull out a handful of snake scales I picked up in the Pharaoh's Tomb dungeon. I add them to the Race Change Potion, infuse it with some MP to finalize the potion, and then use [Observe] on it.</p><p>
  <strong>Race Change Potion(Snake)<br/>Changes the race of the drinker</strong>
</p><p>Already I notice something off. Shouldn't the description have some mention of 'snake' in it? Maybe because it's already in the name of the item? Well, either way, the vagueness of the description means that I really don't have a choice other than to test it.</p><p>I empty the contents of the vial into a syringe I prepared for this. Trying to encourage the chicken to drink the entirety of the potion sounded like a pain in the ass so I decided to find an alternative, and injection works just fine for potions.</p><p>I open the cage and pull the chicken out of it. It doesn't fight me, still half asleep and seemingly docile. Before it decides to rile itself up, I quickly inject it with the potion before setting it on the ground and stepping back.</p><p>Almost immediately, the chicken starts making noise, clucking louder as its body writhes and changes. It doesn't sound like it's in pain, but it doesn't sound very happy either. The process only takes a handful of seconds, and the end result is not what I expected.</p><p>What's in front of me is definitely not a snake, but I don't think it can be called a chicken either. It was still vaguely chicken-shaped, but only barely so. Feathers have been replaced with scales, the wings have turned leathery, it has grown a short and scaled tail, and its neck has elongated. It still has a beak, but a forked tongue flicks out of it, and its eyes are yellow and slit. It still has normal chicken feet though.</p><p>Using [Observe] on it pulls up its stats, barely any higher than a normal chicken's stats. INT and DEX were higher by a point, but the rest were the same. The race was different though, and I use [Observe] on that to pull up more information.</p><p>
  <strong>Lesser Cockatrice<br/>The unholy matrimony of snake and chicken. This creature lacks the supernatural abilities of a true cockatrice.</strong>
</p><p>Huh. I accidentally stumbled my way into making a mythological creature, though a shitty version of it from the sounds of it. But this result is very telling. Race Change Potions don't swap a race completely from one to the other, but instead, seem to make a hybrid? Or they build off of the base of the race of whatever used the potion. Whichever it is, it's why I got a chicken-snake hybrid instead of just a snake.</p><p>Time for test number two. I pull out another Race Change Potion. This time it's to confirm that the potion can be used more than once on a creature. But I can also test a few other things. Like what happens if I put basically a bunch of random stuff in there?</p><p>I take a white mushroom harvested from one of the Mushroom People from this dungeon, dragon oil taken from the fire-spitting plants also in this dungeon, and some void salts so I could try something not based on a creature. And to finish it off, I also add my own blood, curious to see what would happen then.</p><p>
  <strong>Race Change Potion(Mushroom/Dragon/Void/?)<br/>Changes the race of the drinker</strong>
</p><p>Very interesting. Not only does it list each ingredient instead of listing the end mix, but it also doesn't know how to classify me. Which doesn't make much sense to me, considering it's a Game ability, but there were other explanations. Maybe my blood added something random, or something about my blood specifically couldn't be easily labeled.</p><p>I load this potion into the syringe and approach the cockatrice. It still seems pretty docile, though it's looking a lot more active than before. It looks at me sharply when I move to stick the syringe into it, but it doesn't fight or even try to get away. It remains perfectly still as I inject it with the new potion.</p><p>Again its form writhes, but this time it doesn't make a noise. Can it not make any? Whatever the reason, the clearing is silent as the cockatrice changes, and this time it grows as well. By the end of it, its head reaches up to my waist.</p><p>My first thought on seeing it is that it's a winged velociraptor, though details stand out that make it different. For one, it still only has four limbs; two wings and two legs. But there are other differences. While its head is more reptilian than it was before, it still ends in a beak, and its feet are closer to a large chicken's than a proper reptile, though it's definitely between the two. Its scales are pure black and cover every inch of it except the leathery membranes of the wings and its beak.</p><p>
  <strong>Chimaeric Void Cockatrice<br/>A twisted version of a Void Cockatrice, it possesses the abilities of other creatures in addition to its own abilities.</strong>
</p><p>Holy shit. I didn't expect such a good result from such cheap ingredients. Then again, I guess they weren't that cheap. Two uncommon drops, one rare alchemy ingredient, and my own blood.</p><p>"Look at you now Colonel Sanders," I say as I reach out to pet the strange creature. "Your name doesn't even make sense anymore."</p><p>It takes one look at my hand then darts away from me, running deep into the forest. I consider chasing it but decide to leave it alone. I could catch up to it easily, but then what? I don't have an animal taming skill, though I belatedly remember I do have a skill that lets me talk to animals. I could have asked it some questions. Oh well.</p><p>I'll let it live here for now. Or maybe it will just die to the dungeon monsters. I'm sure I'll be able to harvest some interesting alchemy ingredients if that happens. But it's not a danger to anyone while it's in here so until I have a better idea of what to do with it, I'll let it be.</p><p>Still, the experiment had been very enlightening. While it's surprising that the potion doesn't completely change your race, that's almost better. With that, I have way more options open to me while still remaining somewhat close to human. Like sure, it'd be cool to be a dragon, but I'd like a human-like body at least. Though I wonder what would happen if I tried just Devil blood? Devils are already pretty close to human, at least in terms of physical appearance. Would it change my race entirely? Or would it also just be a hybrid? Half-Devils are a thing I'm pretty sure.</p><p>Questions for later though. I'll find an asshole to test that on at some point, but it doesn't matter right now. The questions I had about my own transformation have been answered, and I feel confident in my plans. I have two ingredients ear-marked for my own race change, a third ingredient I know exactly where to get, and ideas for places to find a good fourth one. I'll have everything I need in hand soon.</p><hr/><p>After my little experiment, I spend a few hours into the Hard Mode version of the Pharoah's Tomb dungeon. It's pretty much the same, but with more traps, more enemy types, and it's a lot bigger. It's good for XP though, and I get a few useful items, including 2 Gacha tokens. My LUK also increases to above 500 and I get a neat new perk.</p><p>
  <strong>[Tip The Scales] - Control the outcome of a random event such as a dice roll or coin flip. Has a 7 day cooldown.</strong>
</p><p>I'm sure that'll be very handy at some point. The Gacha items are also neat.</p><p>
  <strong>50% off Coupon<br/>Allows you to buy any single item from the Hunie Store for 50% off</strong>
</p><p>I'll have to scroll through the store sometime and see what's the most expensive thing I can get with it. I have a lot of Hunie, and I can get a lot more. The nice enchanted items are expensive though, so I've been hesitant to buy a bunch until I get my own [Enchanting] high enough. Especially since the gacha keeps giving me items with great enchantments.</p><p>
  <strong>[Shape Metal] - Level 13(57%)<br/>Allows you to change the shape of metal. Speed and area of effect increases with level.</strong>
</p><p>The skill the gacha had given me is also useful. I tested it out earlier on some iron ingots I had. I don't think it's as good as blacksmithing, but when combined with my other skills it could be useful. It's a slow process though.</p><p>I pick up some catalysts in the dungeon as well, but I save [Enchanting] for later. Instead, I spend the rest of the night on my [Alchemy]. It doesn't need to be leveled anymore, but I've barely experimented with the options that opened up when I maxed the skill out. Such as mixing potions into new potions.</p><p>I try the simple ones first, mixing two or more of the same potions together. The result? Nothing. I try it with every potion I have at least two of, but none of them mix together. Not even lower-tier potions can be mixed together to make a higher-tier one, which is the result that I expected. It's a shame too, it would have simplified the ingredient requirements for some of my potions.</p><p>I do find some combinations that work though. Primarily the ones related to HP, MP, and SP. One Health Potion and one Restoration Potion of the same tier can be combined into a Life Potion of that tier, which basically just combines their effects, and I can do the same for the MP and SP versions. I make ten of each.</p><p>Mixing Health and Mana potions, or any other combination of two HP, MP, or SP restoration potions does not result in a potion that restores both. But I <em>can</em> mix all three together and make a potion that restores or increases the regen rate of all three pools. I can then mix those two together to make a potion that restores all three pools as well as increase how fast they regen. I'm not sure how often I'll need something like that though, so I only make five. At the cost of six ultimate tier potions for just one potion, they're not cheap.</p><p>There's one type of potion that has eluded me so far. Well no, there are a lot. But one that I've been wanting so I can give it to Rias to use in her rating game. A potion of Fire Resistance. It's a staple in most games but I haven't come across it yet. Maybe this is how? I can't think of any combination of potions with other potions that would do it, but that just means I have to start combining potions with ingredients.</p><p>It doesn't take me long to figure it out. A Protection Potion combined with fire-related ingredients such as fireblossom, ash, lighter fluid, and dragon oil makes me exactly what I want.</p><p>
  <strong>Ultimate Potion of Fire Resistance<br/>Reduces Fire Damage by 100% for 1186 seconds</strong>
</p><p>So worth it considering an Ultimate Protection Potion 'only' reduces damage by 50%. Completely nullifying fire damage is a huge upgrade, even at the cost of it becoming specialized. I go ahead and make twenty of those, more than they'll need for the Rating Game.</p><p>By the time I'm done with my experimenting it's time for me to start making breakfast, and as they have for the past couple of days, people start trickling in. The only difference now is that Wilhelm is here as well.</p><p>"So you began cooking this early," he muses as he takes his own plate.</p><p>"Oh? Did future me cook for you as well?" I ask, making sure the others can't hear with [Sound Domain].</p><p>"You often made large feasts and took on the responsibility of feeding any group you led," he answers. "It's something I respect about a great deal. That is before you even account for the taste, which exceeds anything I've had before."</p><p>"Well, I don't think my skills are up to that quality yet," I say. "But I'm working on it."</p><p>He nods, and takes his plate of food, and sits down to eat a little ways away from the rest of the group. I guess it's hard for an old man to seamlessly join a group of supernatural teens, huh?</p><p>The only other oddity is the absence of one person.</p><p>"Asia's still sleeping?" Atsuko asks as she looks around the table.</p><p>I check with [Void Detect]. "Yep, looks like it," I lie. "I'll go wake her up since I've already finished eating." Before anyone can comment, I [Void Travel] to her door, and I silently slip inside.</p><p>Asia is not sleeping. In fact, she woke up around the same time everyone else did. But she's still in bed, distracted enough that she didn't even notice me come in. Distracted with what? Well, what I would guess is her first time masturbating.</p><p>Yesterday I increased her arousal a <em>lot</em> throughout the day. When we first kissed, during her massage, and during the bath. She didn't show it very well, but [Lewd Scouter] showed the truth. So I saw an opportunity there.</p><p>During the night, while I was working on my potions, I used [Erotic Pierrot] on her, enabled by [Void Sight]. Between that and the [Erotic Dream] I once again used on everyone, her arousal was extremely high by the time she woke up. And having recently lost much of her innocence, there's no way it wouldn't lead to this situation.</p><p>This situation being Asia, nightgown discarded and laying on her bed in just her panties, one hand rubbing at her crotch and the other on her breast, the same one I was groping last night. She's breathing heavily and her face is flushed.</p><p>"So this is what's keeping you," I say, drawing her attention to me.</p><p>"Axton!" she exclaims. She starts to move to cover herself, but stops, deciding not to.</p><p>I walk towards her. "I came to see why you weren't at breakfast," I explain. "But I see why that is now, and I'm sorry. This is my fault, I should have offered to help you earlier."</p><p>She looks confused. "Help me?"</p><p>"You know how I got hard last night because I felt good and Aika helped me with that? Well, girls do something similar, it just shows itself differently. And you felt good last night, right? But you never reached that climax. I should have realized earlier, so I could help you out like Aika helped me."</p><p>"Oh," she says. She seems a little out of it still. I might have pushed her arousal a little too high, but I can make it work. "So this is a...sex thing?" She hesitates before saying sex, but she gets it out without stuttering.</p><p>"It is," I say as I kneel next to her bed. "Do you want me to help? I can make you feel good, and that'll stop it from being so distracting."</p><p>She looks at me, arousal clear in her eyes, and she nods. "Please," is all she says, but even that's enough to send a jolt of arousal through me.</p><p>Aware of our time limit, I quickly take her panties, which are fairly wet, off by sliding them down her legs. Asia doesn't comment, but she blushes slightly as I do so. She blushes even more when I turn her so her legs are spread with one leg on either side of me, putting her dripping slit right in front of me. Like I noticed last night, she has some pubic hair, but it's very light, and its blonde color makes it difficult to see.</p><p>"Axton?" she asks nervously.</p><p>"I'll make you feel good Asia, trust me." She seems to relax a bit at my words and I lean in and place my lips on her pussy, kissing it.</p><p>I feel a jolt go through her from where my hands are on her legs and she squeaks a little in surprise. But she doesn't say anything, so I continue.</p><p>I run my tongue up her entrance and realize that this is the first time I've gone down on a girl. Which is a shame, because this is one hell of an experience. Every breath fills my nose with the thick scent of her arousal, and I can feel the heat emanating from her much more profoundly than with my fingers or dick. And the taste of her arousal isn't bad either, though I wouldn't go so far as to call it good.</p><p>A quick application of [Alter Flavor], which I'm glad to confirm also works on people that aren't myself, fixes that. I give her a few more licks, and now it tastes strongly of honeysuckle nectar, one of my favorite flavors.</p><p>Spurred on by the sweet taste, I kick things into a higher gear. My tongue explores every inch of her folds, and I'm soon rewarded by the sound of her moans. "Axton!" she cries out, and my dick throbs in response.</p><p>I put my hands on her hips and pull her closer to me. Her slender legs wrap around my head, her soft thighs encasing my head. I'm lost in the sensation of her warmth around me as I plunge my tongue into her entrance as far as it can go.</p><p>Her cries and moans increase in pitch, and in moments she's climaxing. Her legs clamp tight as her insides do around my tongue, pushing it out. Her back arches and I feel shudders rush through her as she cries out. At the same time, I'm surprised by a spurt of liquid that hits me in the face, covering it. Did she just squirt? Holy shit.</p><p>I quickly cast [Clean Body] on myself. I certainly didn't mind being covered in her juices, but I don't know how she might react to seeing what she did to me, and I can't allow something like that at this time.</p><p>Her body relaxes, the tension leaving her and her legs unwrapping themselves from around my head. I get up from where I was kneeling and lean over the bed to kiss her gently. "How was that?" I ask her.</p><p>"Is that what sex feels like?" she asks, more lucid now but still breathing hard.</p><p>"No," I say. "It feels even better actually. But yeah. That's why me and the girls I love do that. It feels that good, and feeling that good makes us happy."</p><p>She nods in agreement before reaching up to wrap her arms around my neck and pull me back down for a deeper kiss. I have to struggle once again with my self-control to not take her then and there. I'm absolutely positive she'd accept it, happily even. But there's too much chance of us being interrupted now, and that would soil her first experience.</p><p>With that in mind, I force myself to pull back. "As much as I would like to make out with you all morning, everyone else is finishing up breakfast now, and the food is getting cold."</p><p>She blinks at me, confused, before realization hits her. Her head turns to look at the clock. "It's already this late?" she says as she scrambles to her feet. "I'll get dressed super quick!" she promises and I laugh.</p><p>"No rush, we have time," I say. I quickly tap her on the shoulder and use [Clean Body]. "But I'll let them know you're coming." Stepping to the side, I [Void Travel] back downstairs.</p><p>"She slept through her alarm," I say as I sit down again at the table. "She'll be down soon."</p><p>"The past couple of days have been pretty tiring," Atsuko says with a yawn. "Did I really fall asleep in the bath last night?"</p><p>"You sure did," I chuckle. I look around. Good. [Sound Domain] had made sure of it, but no one seemed to suspect what just happened. Not that I minded if they knew, but this way Asia wouldn't have to put up with questions or comments. Those could wait until she's more comfortable with sex.</p><p>My dick throbs, still hard, as I recall the event though. We'll go all the way soon. Very soon.</p><hr/><p>When I asked Wilhelm if he wanted to join us in the dungeon, he declined. According to him, I've offered to train him with my dungeons a lot, but he has no interest in it.</p><p>"I'm an old man," he said. "My goal has been accomplished, and you don't need me as a sword by your side. If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to restrict myself to teaching and standard butler duties."</p><p>I saw no reason to push him on it, so I didn't. So it was just the normal crew going into the dungeon. And since they cleared the normal Forest Dungeon already, I decided to kick things up a notch and bring them to the hard mode version.</p><p>I was worried at first, but they surprise me with how well they handle things.</p><p>Swarms of spider-like beings made of animated roots climb out of the ground, but before they can begin to approach they're torn to shreds by a barrage of crackling black and red energy. Rias is putting her second form of attack to good use, Destruction Gatling. It's a rapid-fire form of the Destruction Rifle I had her working on day one, where the focus was on quantity and speed while making them as small as possible.</p><p>While Rias keeps the Root Bugs at bay, everyone else is fighting their own targets. The melee users are focusing on the Keeper of a Seal, a large Ent wielding another tree as a club. It made my heart race to see Atsuko duck under an attack, it barely missing her, but between her now using four boosts and equipped with a higher quality great ax I picked up in the hard mode Pharaoh's Tomb dungeon last night, she's doing a terrific job. Technically, her stats are higher than mine, and that's at only four boosts.</p><p>The mages are keeping back the other enemies. The trees surrounding us are filled with creatures made of vines and flowers that spit poison and thorns and all sorts of nasty things. I'm helping a little with careful applications of [Void Beam], but for the most part, I'm leaving it to them. They're doing a good job. Akeno and Aika take out multiple with each spell they cast, though it comes at a heavy MP cost. Asia uses her Holy Barriers to block their projectiles and uses [Dryad's Aura] to trap them in place on the tree branches they stand on so the other two girls can more easily take them out.</p><p>My attention is drawn to the Ent as it roars, the flames of Kiba's sword pouring over it as it collapses and dies. At its roar, all of the other creatures flee.</p><p>Everyone takes a moment to relax and catch their breath, but I know we don't have time for that.</p><p>"Good job guys, but we can't rest yet," I say. "The boss of this place isn't trapped in a room like the other one, and he'll have sensed that guy dying, and he's gonna be pissed. We need to hoof it back to a safe zone."</p><p>There are some groans, but the sound of a not-so-distant roar catches everyone's attention. As one, we rush back to the safe zone. The Devils pull out their wings and fly above the treetops, while I scoop up Asia in my arms and run us back. Trying to take on an invincible boar that's pissed off is bound to go wrong.</p><p>We make it back to the safe room, which is really just a different clearing with a small set of stone ruins in the center, in just a couple minutes without encountering it though.</p><p>Once we're there, I use [Dungeon Traversal] to bring us back to the real world, setting Asia back on her feet as we arrive. "You guys did well today," I tell them. "I'll give you the full debrief during lunch, but I'll say that I definitely expected this dungeon to challenge you a lot more than it did, and you can thank your teamwork for that."</p><p>There are several pleased smiles at that, especially from Rias. We walk as a group to the outdoor tables and I see Aika and Akeno having an animated conversation while Atsuko, Koneko, and Kiba talk together. Kiba is laughing at something Atsuko said and Koneko has a smile on her face. Even Rias and Asia are talking about something with smiles on their faces.</p><p>The old members of Rias's peerage were already close to each other before this, but seeing everyone being so friendly together in these casual moments really shows how well the new members have integrated into the group. And the dungeon runs have been a big part of making that happen.</p><p>They've also leveled up quite a bit. Rias is over 150, and everyone else is over 100 now. My own leveling is slower, but I've leveled enough to push me over 1000 DEX and earn me a perk.</p><p>
  <strong>[Bullet Time] - Once a day, slow down time massively for five subjective seconds. You can move normally but everything else moves at a 1% speed.</strong>
</p><p>In real-time, that isn't very much time at all. But it's a powerful perk that, used appropriately, can either get me out of any situation or let me land a killing blow once a day.</p><p>My spirits high, I start distributing lunch to everyone. Training is going well so far, and we're not even halfway done.</p><hr/><p>The sound of steel on steel fills the clearing as Wilhelm and Kiba fight. They're holding identical sabers in their hands as they clash. Kiba doesn't stand a chance, not when Wilhelm's DEX is so high. Wilhelm is practically standing still, only shifting his weight slightly as one arm wields his sword to block, deflect, and parry all of Kiba's attacks. He's holding his other arm behind his back while his face remains passive.</p><p>Kiba is his opposite in every way. He's moving constantly, circling around Wilhelm and attacking from every angle. I can see the concentration and sweat on his face, and every swing has his full strength behind it.</p><p>Is this really teaching? I'm no expert, but this looks more like Wilhelm showing off. But I'll choose to believe that Wilhelm knows what he's doing and I'll leave him to it. I've also given him a few health and stamina potions, and he has those in the potion belt pouch that I don't use because my inventory is better.</p><p>Leaving them to continue their sparring, I [Void Travel] to where Atsuko is training. She's still running laps around the mountain because training her stamina is the most important thing right now. Her level-ups and boosts give her the stats she needs, but they don't do anything for her stamina, which she needs to maintain her boosts.</p><p>"How's it going?" I ask as I appear out of nowhere in front of her. She starts and nearly trips out of surprise, but she manages to stay on her feet as she stumbles to a stop.</p><p>"Axton!" she exclaims. "I wish you would stop doing that," she complains as she catches her breath.</p><p>"Sorry, that's one wish I can't grant," I reply with a laugh. "It's way too fun."</p><p>"Jeez," she grumbles, but then she perks up. "Oh right! I'm glad you dropped by, there was something I wanted to ask you about."</p><p>"If I can answer, I will. What's up?"</p><p>"So I've been having these weird dreams lately," she starts.</p><p>"Erotic dreams are pretty common for a girl your age," I cut in, teasing her. "Especially for one that's recently started having an active sex life."</p><p>She blushes slightly. "I don't mean that!" She pauses. "Well okay, I've had some of those too, but I mean the <em>other</em> dreams I've been having."</p><p>"Oh?" I'm surprised [Erotic Dreams] leaves room for other dreams.</p><p>"I can't remember them too well, it starts fading by the time I wake up," she starts, finger on her chin as she struggles to recall. "But I'm pretty sure there's been this big red dragon appearing in my dreams."</p><p>My first reaction was to wonder why the hell Great Red was contacting Atsuko, but then I realized that there was another red dragon that was more likely to appear in her dreams.</p><p>"That's most likely Ddraig, the dragon that's in your Sacred Gear," I tell her.</p><p>She pauses. "When you say that it's him-"</p><p>"I mean it's literally him, talking to you through your dreams, and not part of your imagination," I clarify.</p><p>"He can do that?" She looks a little nervous.</p><p>I shrug. "I mean, probably? His soul resides in your Sacred Gear, which is part of your soul. If he's appearing in your dreams, it probably means he's close to waking up, and he'll be able to talk freely when that happens."</p><p>She frowns at her left hand, opening and closing it as she looks at it. I can feel the worry from her. "What do you think he's like?" she asks.</p><p>"You'd know better than me," I say. "What does he seem like in your dreams?"</p><p>She shakes her head. "I don't remember. I barely remember that I see a dragon at all."</p><p>"Do you remember an emotion maybe?" I push. "Was it scary? Unpleasant? Cool? Funny?"</p><p>She furrows her brow. "I don't think it was bad. Maybe a little scary? But he's a big dragon, so of course he's a little scary."</p><p>"Well, if he didn't leave a strong impression, he's probably not too bad," I say. "I wouldn't worry about it too much for now."</p><p>She nods and lowers her hand, turning her gaze back to me. "Right," she agrees, and I can feel her emotions clearing up. "So! What kind of training are we going to do today?"</p><p>I grin. It's nice dealing with someone who doesn't let things get to them. "I'm pretty sure we can get more boosts out of you now, want to see what your new maximum is?"</p><p>She lets out a shout of joy and we enter the Game Board. Riser is going to regret his actions so hard by the time the Rating game is over.</p><hr/><p>Koneko and I are once again in the Game Board squaring off against each other for some friendly sparring.</p><p>"Tell you what," I say as we take our starting positions. "If you manage to land a hit on me today, I'll bake a bunch of cookies just for you." A little motivation had worked well for Aika, and Koneko is even easier to figure out the proper motivation for.</p><p>She pauses, but she looks very interested. "You won't just run away?" she asks, wary.</p><p>"No, I'll be fighting you normally," I say. "I just won't be holding back, and I'll be using some of my skills. I won't teleport or attack with any spells though, or attack from range at all."</p><p>"If I don't hit you?" she asks.</p><p>I shrug. "Then you don't get cookies. They're a reward, I'm not making a bet with you. If you don't succeed today I'll give you the same challenge tomorrow. Though maybe with fewer cookies."</p><p>I can see determination settle on her face at the thought of not getting the maximum number of cookies possible. She nods, accepting the challenge and she settles into a fighting stance. With a grin, I mirror her.</p><p>There are a few tense moments as neither of us moves, each of us sizing the other up. But I don't let it last too long before I dash towards her. She starts to dodge out of the way but I see on her face as she realizes she won't be fast enough. She crosses her arms in front of her and tenses, blocking my punch.</p><p>The force of it sends her flying backwards into a tree with a crack, but from our previous sparring, I know something like that won't phase her. Especially with the use of Iron Body. Sure enough, when I check her with [Observe], she hasn't lost any HP at all. Hand-to-hand combat isn't exactly my forte, so it's not like my punches do all that much damage, but considering the huge gap in our stats, I'm impressed at the effectiveness of Iron Body.</p><p>Koneko doesn't waste any time in her recovery and counterattack, rushing at me again by kicking off the same tree I had punched her into. It snaps in half at the second application of force to its trunk and slowly falls to the ground.</p><p>I duck under her lunge, twirling around as I do so, which I'm glad for as I tilt my head out of the way of her punch, her body twisted upside down. I lean back to avoid her follow-up kick and then her lunge takes her out of range and she flips around to land on the ground about ten feet away.</p><p>She knew I would dodge the lunge and was ready for it. Good thinking, but she's still too slow to catch up to me. I activate [Void Detect] though. If she's actually going to try this hard it's my duty as her teacher to make her work for it.</p><p>We spend a while like that, with Koneko trying to maneuver to my blind spots and attack from there. It doesn't take her long to figure out that I'm doing something else other than using my eyes to sense where she is and what she's doing, but she continues to test me, looking for blind spots in my technique. Unfortunately for her, [Void Detect] doesn't have anything like that.</p><p>I grab her leg after she overextends with a kick before spinning around and throwing her. As she flies through the air I notice her ears sprout on top of her head and a tail grows out of her lower back, poking out of her shorts.</p><p>She flips in the air and lands feet first on a tree branch, which bends back with the force of her impact. When it snaps back into place she launches herself forward at me again.</p><p>I use [Observe] as our fight continues. This isn't the first time her cat features have come out during our sparring. They also tend to appear halfway through massage sessions. But this is the first time I've thought to see if there are any changes to her stats. To my surprise, there aren't. But she's moving faster and more precisely. Is it because she's no longer focusing on hiding her cat features? Or do they help in some way?</p><p>Still, the difference in her skill with her cat ears out is relatively small. Noticeable, but not enough to close the gap between us.</p><p>We continue fighting like this for half an hour. Over a dozen trees get broken and Koneko ends up splashing into a river at one point. As time passes and it seems less and less likely she'll get her reward, her attacks become more frantic.</p><p>It's as I'm wondering if I should maybe try to let her get a hit on me that things suddenly change. She speeds up, moving faster than before, and [Void Detect] picks up energy from her that is vaguely familiar, but I can't place it. [Observe] shows her stats have increased by over double. And more interestingly, it shows her name as Shirone instead of Koneko.</p><p>It catches me off guard at first, but even with her new speed it's not enough and I'm able to dodge her flurry of attacks. It leaves me off-balance though and totally unprepared for the ball of blue fire that she launches at me. I don't have the leverage to dodge out of the way in time, so all I can do is block it with a raised arm. I feel the heat as it burns lightly, but it isn't strong enough to do much damage.</p><p>We both stop moving for the first time since our fight started and catch our breath, but Koneko's breathing is only getting heavier and I feel her panic rising with [Empathy]. I'm confused at first before it clicks. That feeling from her was ki, she was using Senjutsu at the end. And she has some sort of issue with Senjutsu if I recall correctly.</p><p>"I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Koneko stammers. "I didn't want to, I shouldn't have-"</p><p>"Hey hey hey," I say to her as I approach her. "Calm down, it's okay, you didn't do anything wrong."</p><p>"No no no no," she says. Her ears and tail disappear and she sits down on the ground. She pulls her knees in towards herself as she keeps repeating the word.</p><p>Unsure of how to handle this, I just sit down next to her and wrap an arm around her. I try to comfort her but I don't think she even hears me, lost as she is in her panic attack. For the first time, I wish I had true emotion manipulation, instead of just being able to increase a single emotion, lust. As it is, all I can do is sit there and help her ride out her panic.</p><p>We spend ten minutes like that with her panicking and me trying to calm her down. She slowly starts to lose steam though, and a couple minutes after she finally stops repeating the word 'no' she seems to come back to her senses.</p><p>"...I'm sorry," she says after a moment.</p><p>"There's nothing to be sorry about as far as I'm concerned," I deny. "More importantly, do you want to talk about it?" She tenses. "I won't force you to, but talking about it can help, and if it's anything I can help with I will."</p><p>She's silent for a moment. For several moments actually, and I begin to worry as she doesn't respond and just sits there, silent and tense.</p><p>She eventually shakes her head. "No, it's nothing. I just did something I'm not supposed to."</p><p>"That blue fire?" I ask, and I feel her anxiety spike. Dammit, if that's all it takes to almost set her off again, I have no choice but to pull back for now. "Well, I can't say I understand why. I'm not hurt. But I won't push you to talk about it."</p><p>She nods, and I can feel some of her tension flow out of her as the anxiety lessens. But they don't go away entirely, and I can tell she's still shaken.</p><p>"Tell you what," I say as I stand up. "Why don't we go make those cookies? I think you need some time to unwind a bit, and the way I see it, you got a hit on me, so you earned them." I look down at her with a smile and offer my hand to her.</p><p>She looks at my hand for a moment, and I can tell she's conflicted about counting that as her win. But the allure of cookies wins her over, and she nods before taking my hand, allowing me to help her to her feet.</p><p>As I take us out of the Game Board and we start walking towards the cabin, my mind is a million miles away, trying to figure out how to handle this. I need to figure out a way to help her get over her fears, but it's hard. I know the truth, but I <em>shouldn't</em> know it, there's no explanation for how I could have learned it.</p><p>First things first, I need to get the full story out of Rias or Serafall or someone. I'll figure it out once I 'learn' what is going on. For now though, I'll just focus on getting closer to Koneko, and cookies are the perfect way of doing that.</p><hr/><p>As my tongue explores each fold and crevice of Akeno's pussy, I curse my past self for never going down on a girl. The feeling of her soft thighs wrapped around my head and under my fingers combined with the smell and taste of her arousal and the sound of her sweet moans as I bring her to climax is nearly divine.</p><p>I switch my focus to her clit, stimulating it with my tongue from different angles. Akeno's cries increase in pitch until she cums, her orgasm washing over her as she lets out a single prolonged moan of pleasure.</p><p>As the tension leaves her body and her legs loosen from around my head, I untangle myself from her and step back. I wipe some of her juices, once again flavored like honeysuckle nectar, off of my lips and appreciate my handiwork.</p><p>Akeno's chest is heaving as she takes deep breaths, her chest moving in an almost mesmerizing way at the action, and her hair is splayed out and wild under her. There's a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and her eyes are slightly unfocused as she recovers from her climax. With a beauty like Akeno, it's an extremely arousing sight.</p><p>"I know that it's not a massage, but how relaxed do you feel now?" I ask, tone smug.</p><p>"Very," she says, breath still a little short. "More so than I would after the massage, I think. I definitely won't have any trouble getting to sleep tonight."</p><p>"I'm glad," I reply as I touch her lower leg and cast [Clean Body] to wipe away the sweat. "I'm trying to personalize my massages for each person."</p><p>I see Akeno smirk. "And for how many people are massages just you have sex with them?"</p><p>I shrug. "Just Aika and Atsuko. And maybe Asia soon. And you, a little bit. Kiba, Rias, and Koneko all get normal massages."</p><p>"That's why the smell was so strong today, Atsuko was in here before me wasn't she?" Akeno mentions as she sits up.</p><p>"Should I light some candles?" I ask.</p><p>"I don't mind the smell, but Koneko might," Akeno says as she gets up. "She has a sensitive nose."</p><p>"I'll make sure to account for that," I reply. Though how I'll account for that is the opposite of covering up the smell.</p><p>"I'll leave you to the rest of your massages," she says as she grabs her towel and opens the door. "Have a good night Axton."</p><p>"You too," I say and she leaves, leaving me alone in the room. I sigh and start cleaning up, preparing for the next person.</p><p>As she normally does, Rias comes in just a couple minutes after Akeno leaves. Though the smell of sex should only be stronger after what Akeno and I did, Rias doesn't seem to notice it. [Empathy] doesn't pick up anything at least, nor does she comment on it.</p><p>As she lays down on the table and I start on the massage I restrict myself to low levels of [Touch of Pleasure] and not using [Increase Sensitivity] and decide to broach the topic of Koneko with Rias. Getting the story out of Koneko would be difficult at best, so it's better to get it from someone else.</p><p>"So something happened during today's training with Koneko," I mention.</p><p>I can feel her tense up slightly under my hands. "What happened?" she asks, tone serious.</p><p>"During our one on one sparring it seems she got frustrated and tapped into some power or ability that increased her skill and strength and let her throw a ball of blue fire," I explain. "But then she had a small panic attack about it and I had to calm her down. She didn't explain anything, and I didn't push her to."</p><p>Rias sighs. "I was worried this would come up, but I didn't think it actually would," she says. She goes silent for a moment. "How much have you figured out?"</p><p>"I know she was some sort of cat youkai before being reincarnated," I say. "From day one, Yua referred to her as a cat, and her ears and tail appeared during her first massage."</p><p>"They did?" Rias asks in surprise. "That's...very unexpected. Even totally relaxed I'm surprised she let them show."</p><p>"I also know that whatever she did today was ki-based," I continue. "I didn't recognize the feeling at first since my own ki-based skills are pretty limited, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was."</p><p>"It was," Rias confirms. Not that I needed it. Despite my phrasing, it's obvious what she used was Senjutsu, but the more in the dark I seem, the better.</p><p>"I guess I should explain what happened," Rias continues. And over the next couple minutes, she does. She explains how Koneko is a Nekoshou, a rare type of Nekomata that has a high affinity with Senjutsu, a skill that involves manipulating life force, or ki. She explains how Koneko, called Shirone at the time, and her older sister Kuroka were adopted by a Devil, and Kuroka joined the Devil's peerage.</p><p>Then tragedy struck when Kuroka suddenly went on a rampage, drunk on her quickly growing power, killed that Devil, and fled, becoming one of the most wanted criminals in the Underworld. Koneko was also persecuted and nearly killed by those afraid of her possibly doing the same thing as her sister until Sirzechs stepped in and protected her. That's when he gave Koneko to Rias to join her Peerage.</p><p>"I guess Sirzechs wasn't worried about Koneko then," I say, continuing my massage of her lower back. Though thinking about it, I don't know why he wouldn't be. Unless he knew or at least suspected the truth. But could he even know the truth, with that being that the Devil in question decided to start experimenting on Koneko instead of just Koneko's sister, Kuroka? Does anyone besides Kuroka know that? I'm not sure how they could.</p><p>"But Koneko is," Rias says sadly. "That poor girl. The first time I met her, she looked dead, like she had lost everything. I've been giving her time and a family. It's been helping, but she still refuses her Nekoshou heritage and Senjutsu as a whole just so she doesn't risk going down the same path as her sister."</p><p>"Leading to the panic attack when she accidentally uses it," I conclude. "Makes sense."</p><p>"How did that happen?" Rias asks, and it's my turn to sigh.</p><p>"I told her if she could get a hit on me while I wasn't holding back I'd make her a batch of cookies just for her," I explain. "And I guess she got desperate enough that she instinctively reached for Senjutsu to help her."</p><p>"That does sound like Koneko," Rias accedes with mixed emotions.</p><p>"I ended up making the cookies," I continue. "Both because her Senjutsu did hit me and as a way to calm her down. It seemed to work."</p><p>"Is that why you didn't come to me immediately?" Rias asks, a little sharply. "I know I've mostly just handed the reins to you on this whole training camp thing, which I've done only because I trust in your ability to help us grow and you've done a good job of it so far, but something like that should have been brought to me immediately."</p><p>I grimace as I start massaging her lower legs. "In hindsight, yeah, I should have," I admit. "Truth be told, I panicked a little when she started panicking and focused just on making her feel better. And once she did, it didn't seem urgent enough to bring to you immediately."</p><p>Rias sighs again. "I'd have rather you come to me immediately, but I am glad you handled it as well as you did, and I do want to thank you for that."</p><p>"Of course," I say as I finish up the massage. "It was no problem at all. Koneko is a friend too."</p><p>"I'm glad you feel that way," she says as she sits up. "And I don't think I've said it yet, but thank you, Axton, for all of this. The training, the massages, everything you're doing to help us. Before I wasn't sure about defeating Riser, but after these few days of training, I feel like we have a real chance."</p><p>"Oh you have more than a chance," I say. "By the time we're done, I expect you to be able to humiliate him in that Rating Game."</p><p>Rias smiles at me, uncaring of the fact that she's currently naked and facing me. "Right!" she exclaims, pumped up. "We'll make him sorry for ever thinking he could lay his hands on me!"</p><p>"Hell yeah," I encourage her. "Now go get some rest, we're not even halfway done with our training yet."</p><p>She nods and leaves the room after wrapping a towel around herself, and I spend a moment trying to figure out why Akeno leaves naked when Rias doesn't when Rias has the exhibitionism fetish and Akeno doesn't. Or is that why? For Akeno, it's just something she does, but for Rias, it's something that arouses her, so she's less likely to be casual about it?</p><p>As I'm contemplating that, Asia comes in for her massage. A smile breaks out on my face and I greet her with a hug and a kiss before she starts stripping. My smile widens as she steps out of her panties as well, going completely nude for her massage. She blushes a little but doesn't move to hide herself as she gets onto the table.</p><p>I really am living a blessed life, being able to casually see so many attractive girls naked and be able to put my hands all over them. And also have sex with a lot of them. I'll have to thank Kyu later. But right now, I focus on rewarding Asia for stripping down completely by increasing the strength of my lewd skills as I massage her.</p><p>"How's your training with Wilhelm going?" I ask. I was in the Game Board with someone else during the time she trained with him so I didn't get to see much of it.</p><p>"Good!" she responds cheerfully, even as a flush is slowly rising on her face due to my skills taking effect. "He's very kind. He doesn't mind my klutziness and is very patient with me."</p><p>"I'm sure you're doing great," I encourage her. "Already I can feel a difference in your back muscles, especially around your shoulder blades."</p><p>"Really?" she asks, surprised. I don't actually, not really. Her back muscles are more tense maybe, but how the Game deals with an increased STR stat and musculature is weird and doesn't always feel consistent, though I'm sure it's just due to it following a set of rules or pattern that I haven't figured out.</p><p>"Really," I lie, because the confidence boost is worth it. "Soon you'll be able to lift me up and use me as a sword," I joke, and she laughs at the absurdity of the image. The rest of the massage continues with us casually talking and joking, and all too soon the massage is done.</p><p>She gives me another kiss before getting dressed. "See you in the bath?" she asks.</p><p>"Of course," I reply. "I'm looking forward to it already." She smiles at my words and she gets dressed and leaves.</p><p>As usual, Koneko is the last one in for her massage. Once again she makes a face of confusion when she walks in and smells the scene of sex still lingering in the air. And once again, I hit her with [Erotic Pierrot] to heighten her arousal when she smells it. She still looks like she isn't sure what the smell is, but she doesn't worry too much about it today.</p><p>She strips down to her normal bra and panties. Her chest is small enough that she doesn't really <em>need</em> a bra, but she still wears what looks to me like a simple sports bra, though it covers a little less skin than most sports bras I've seen.</p><p>As she lays down and I get started on her massage, I contemplate my plan of action. Right here, right now, this is not the right time to push things. Unlike Rias, I'm not willing to sit here and just wait for it to magically get better. Though I don't think confronting her issues early on would have been a good idea either. But she's at the point where she should be ready to face those issues, but she needs a push.</p><p>But I have to be careful about that push. Going about it the wrong way risks it backfiring and her becoming even more afraid. And pushing right now would most likely result in that. I'll take it slow, for now, and come up with a plan.</p><p>"How are you feeling after training today?" I ask, and she tenses up a little at just that, but she quickly relaxes again.</p><p>"Fine," she says. Not a great sign. Koneko doesn't speak a lot, and when she does she keeps it short, but one word clipped responses like that is even less than usual.</p><p>"Your muscles aren't too knotted up," I comment. "That's good. I guess you do a good job stretching."</p><p>She makes a small noise of agreement but doesn't say anything. I sigh in defeat and decide to do one last little push. "Look Koneko, if you ever need anything from me, whether it's information or help or you just want to talk, you can come to me at any time, and I'll do everything I can to help, okay? I don't know what's bothering you, but I want to help. So don't hesitate to reach out to me, okay?"</p><p>She doesn't respond immediately, but eventually, she nods. [Empathy] picks up a mixture of appreciation and anxiety from her, but I'll consider it a win and a step forward.</p><p>The rest of the massage continues in silence, but not an uncomfortable one. I quickly finish up and pat her on the head before she leaves, which she seems to appreciate and she relaxes more at my touch.</p><p>After she leaves I quickly clean up and decide to put that Koneko situation aside for now and just enjoy my bath with my girls.</p><hr/><p>I squeeze the soft flesh under both of my hands and moan in pleasure. My lips are captured by Asia's as we kiss, one of my arms wrapped around her as I cup her ass. Asia's ass, like her breasts, isn't the biggest, but there's more than enough for me to be able to grab a good handful of it, and from the way she leans further into my side I can tell she enjoys the sensation as much as I do.</p><p>My other hand is on Atsuko's waist, guiding her movements as I pound her from behind. My dick repeatedly plunges deep into her, our flesh slapping together rhythmically as I fuck her.</p><p>She's moaning, but it's muffled by the fact that her face is buried in Aika's crotch, eating her out. Aika is groping herself with one hand while the other is tangled in Atsuko's hair. She watches all of us, eyes unfocused with lust.</p><p>I thank [Void Sight] for the ability to view things from any angle I want even as my actual eyes are closed while I make out with Asia, and I don't miss a single part of this wonderful bath time orgy.</p><p>Feeling the pressure rise in my core, I break my kiss with Asia and separate from her just enough to speak. "I'm cumming!" I say as I speed up my thrusts, and in moments I'm filling Atsuko's womb with my seed, burst after burst of semen shooting deep inside of her.</p><p>I slump slightly as my orgasm finishes, though I remain inside Atsuko and I'm still facing Asia, our lips close enough that I can taste her breath as we both breathe heavily.</p><p>"My turn!" Aika says, and she gently repositions Atsuko, pulling her off of my still erect dick. After a moment of shuffling the two girls wind up so that Aika is positioned where Atsuko was, and Atsuko is below her laying on her back. Aika leans down and starts kissing Atsuko even as she wiggles her ass at me. I'm not one to turn down an offer like that, so I don't hesitate to line myself up and sheathe myself in her in one go.</p><p>Her cry of pleasure is muffled by Atsuko's mouth, and I continue what I was doing with Atsuko, fucking her hard even as I go back to making out with Asia. [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] are both very active and between those skills, our makeout session, and her adjacent position to the sex that's happening has made her pretty aroused, but I don't do anything to address it.</p><p>Instead, I just keep kissing her and stoking her arousal even more as I pound Aika from behind and enjoy the view of the two girls making out. Aika orgasms within minutes and the way she clamps down on me when she does draws out my own climax. I fill her with semen just as I did with Atsuko, though this time I do it without breaking my kiss with Asia, keeping our lips interlocked even as I cum.</p><p>It's only as I finish and remove myself from Aika that I break my kiss and pull back. Asia looks like Aika did, eyes filled with lust to the point where she looks dazed. Once again, I rein in my temptation to have sex with her right then and there. Despite her inclusion in our group sessions, I want her first time to be just me and her. I'm so close to that now, and I won't ruin it.</p><p>Aika rolls off of Atsuko and lays face up, sprawled out on the cool stone of the bathroom floor.</p><p>"Axton?" Atsuko says as she recovers her breath, chest heaving in an alluring fashion.</p><p>"Yeah?" I respond.</p><p>"I'm so happy right now," she says simply, and I smile.</p><p>"Me too," I reply. I reach down and cast [Clean Body] on the two girls laying on the ground, and on Asia as well. "Come on, let's go relax in the bath."</p><p>They nod and slowly make their way to the bathwater a few feet away. We sit in the same arrangement as we did last night, Aika on my left, Atsuko on my right, and Asia between my legs. Despite all our action, I'm still erect, but I long ago gave up on the idea of having sex until I go soft, and from the way Asia pressed her back into it, it doesn't seem like she minds.</p><p>I let out a sigh of contentment. "I'm going to have to make sure Serafall includes a nice bath like this in my new house," I say out loud.</p><p>Aika pauses. "Serafall as in the Satan?" she asks, confused.</p><p>"Oh right, I guess I didn't mention it," I reply. "I made a deal with her for some potions and in return, she's building me a new place to live. A nice big one that'll have more room than my tiny apartment."</p><p>"That's a pretty big deal," Aika says.</p><p>"Nah, it's just a business transaction," I say. "It's what I would have spent the money on anyway, but it's hard to build a house when you're sixteen years old. Plus, she can get it done faster."</p><p>"Are your potions worth that much?" Atsuko asks.</p><p>"Oh yeah, for sure," I say. "I've given you guys some of my basic potions, but you haven't really needed them for much. I have more specialized ones that Serafall is very interested in. Plus, she's rich as hell. Pretty much all high-class Devils are, and the Satans are even more so. Building a house in Kuoh is no big deal at all for her, and I'm the only one that can make these potions."</p><p>"I see," Atsuko says, and I think she actually does. "In that case, yes, you should definitely have a bath like this. And a huge bed. And a pool!"</p><p>I laugh. "I'll pass that along to her later," I say. "I think construction has already started, but it shouldn't be an issue to add some things like that." Or at least, I don't think Serafall would have an issue with it.</p><p>"Good," she says.</p><p>"How about you two?" I ask the other girls. "Anything you want to request?"</p><p>Asia shakes her head, but Aika perks up. "A sex dungeon!" she enthusiastically suggests, causing me to laugh again.</p><p>"I'll see what I can do," I say. "That could definitely be fun."</p><p>We spend a few more minutes chatting about fun things to add to the house before we finish our bath and head back to our rooms to sleep for the night.</p><hr/><p>I'm alone in my room sitting on my bed and looking through my inventory when I hear a soft knock on my door. "Come in," I call out, knowing who it is, and I turn to face Asia as she opens the door. Instead of her normal nightgown, she's wearing something far more transparent. She's wearing a matching bra and panties made of white lace so transparent that it hides nothing at all. I grin as I see it.</p><p>"That looks really nice on you," I comment as she steps into my room and hurriedly shuts the door behind her. "Did you get that when we went shopping the other day?"</p><p>She nods. "Aika insisted on it," she explains. "I wasn't sure about it at the time, but she said it would make you happy."</p><p>"She was right," I say as I extend my hand out to her and invite her to come closer. "I love seeing you in something like this."</p><p>Her embarrassment seems to lessen a little and is replaced with joy and relief and she gladly approaches me. I take her hand and pull her close. Due to how I'm sitting my head is level with her chest, and I can clearly see her nipples through the sheer fabric.</p><p>"So what can I do for you?" I ask her, and she blushes.</p><p>"You remember this morning?" she asks.</p><p>"Vividly," I reply immediately, causing her to blush harder.</p><p>"Well, I feel like that again," she admits. "And I was wondering if you could help me with that again?"</p><p>I grin. This is it. "I would love to do that," I say, and I pull her towards me. She follows my guidance and climbs on my lap, legs spread on either side of me as she straddles me. As her head becomes level with mine I put my hands on her waist and lean forward to kiss her.</p><p>Kissing Asia isn't like kissing any of my other girls. Each of them kisses differently, but the way Asia kisses stands out to me. Her kisses, no matter how heated things get, are always tender and loving, and I can tell each moment is bliss for her. Even as her arousal heightens and she loses herself in the kiss, neither her lips nor tongue become frantic. They're always calm and loving and deeply passionate.</p><p>I put my hands on her waist and pull her closer to me, pressing her crotch against my quickly rising erection in my pants. She eagerly responds, pushing herself even further into it, and she whimpers in pleasure into my mouth. My dick twitches at the sound of it, and I can feel myself losing control.</p><p>I break our kiss. "So how do you want me to help you?" I ask her, voice husky but teasing. "With my mouth again? Or maybe my fingers, for something new?"</p><p>But she shakes her head. "Those aren't what I want," she says, nervous.</p><p>"Tell me what you want then," I encourage her. "Communication is important in a relationship."</p><p>She pauses, and I can feel my heart beating as I watch her gather her courage. This is it, it's finally here.</p><p>"I want you to use your thing," she says quietly.</p><p>I can't resist teasing her more. "My what?" I ask. "I'm not sure what you mean?"</p><p>She pouts cutely. "Your penis," she says in a quiet voice. "I want to have sex. I want to feel like the other girls did, and I want to make you feel good too."</p><p>I smile at her and kiss her. "I've been waiting for you to say that," I tell her. I spin her around and lay her down on my bed. She looks nervous, but also expectant. As much as I like her outfit, it's in the way. I quickly stash her clothes into my inventory while I do the same with my own clothes, leaving both of us naked.</p><p>I gently kiss her on the lips, and she starts to kiss back, but I separate from her. She looks confused until I plant another kiss on her neck, and then another one on her collarbone. She simultaneously tenses and relaxes as I move downwards, gently kissing her breasts, her stomach, the skin right above her crotch, her inner thighs, and then directly on her lower lips.</p><p>She lets out a shaky breath at the last kiss, and I smile up at her. Moving back up, I kiss her normally as I position myself next to her. My fingers reach downwards and start playing with her pussy. My dick presses against her side.</p><p>"I know you said you didn't want my fingers," I explain between kisses. "But despite what I did with Aika and Atsuko earlier, I need to make sure you're ready down there." I kiss her again. "So I'm going to make you feel good with my fingers," another pause for a kiss, "But things won't stop there."</p><p>She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. "Okay," she says. "I trust you."</p><p>I smile fondly at her and kiss her again. This time I don't break contact after a moment, and instead, I deepen the kiss. As our tongues meet, I run a finger along her wet slit, teasing her.</p><p>I take things slowly, drawing out the experience so I can savor every moment of it. I tease her entrance with my fingertips, gently circling her clit on occasion. I can feel the shivers run through her as she becomes wetter, and eventually, I slowly insert a single finger into her.</p><p>She cries out softly, a small noise of pleasure and surprise and I insert my digit into her tight folds. I immediately know I made the right call warming her up though, as she's incredibly tight. I quickly use [Imbue Elasticity] on her. It doesn't decrease her tightness any, but now I can stretch her without worrying about hurting her.</p><p>"That feels...strange," Asia comments, breathing heavily.</p><p>"Strange bad?" I ask, but she immediately shakes her head.</p><p>"No, it feels good," she denies. "But it also feels weird."</p><p>"I'll make sure it feels good enough that you don't even notice the strangeness," I say. She nods and kisses me again.</p><p>Less worried about being gentle due to [Imbue Elasticity], I slowly push my finger deeper into her. She moans into my mouth as I push my finger all the way inside of her and wraps her arms tighter around me.</p><p>I continue to take things slow as I probe her insides with my finger, slowly pulling it out slightly to make sure I explore every angle, looking for a spot that gives me a bigger reaction. It doesn't take me too long to find it, and as soon as I do I slowly pull my finger out of her.</p><p>She whimpers again, this time sad that I stopped, but her whimper turns into a high-pitched moan as I stretch her insides even more by inserting two fingers into her this time. I immediately use both fingers to focus on the spot I found earlier, and the results are pretty immediate.</p><p>She breaks our kiss and starts moaning loudly, her high-pitched voice serving to increase my own arousal. I watch her face twist in pleasure as I finger her to an orgasm, fluid once again spraying from her as she cums. I guess that confirms that Asia is a squirter.</p><p>I give her a moment to recover before I speak. "Are you ready for the real thing now?" I ask her after she catches her breath. "That should be enough to loosen you up so it's not painful for you." That and [Imbue Elasticity]. Honestly, that skill is a female virgin's best friend.</p><p>She still looks a little dazed from her orgasm, but she nods, her eyes lighting up. I reposition myself, spreading her legs and sliding between them. I line myself up and press the head of my penis against her entrance.</p><p>She looks up at me, expression and emotions a mix of nervous and anticipatory, and I lean down to kiss her, capturing her lips with my own again as I slowly push into her.</p><p>She cries out, voice muffled by my mouth, as I slowly enter her and stretch her out. Thankfully, her voice is pure pleasure, though I only barely notice as I'm distracted by her incredible tightness. I'm barely a few inches in and already the feeling is incredible.</p><p>I don't stop there though, and keep going. She continues moaning into my mouth as I do so. Eventually, I'm forced to stop as the tip of my penis presses against a wall. It's hard to guess distance when the pleasure is threatening to overwhelm me, but I'd guess I managed to get roughly halfway into her.</p><p>I stay there for a few moments, giving Asia a chance to adjust before I start moving. But I can't resist for long, and my hips start bucking, making small thrusts in and out of her, each thrust butting up against that wall deep inside her.</p><p>I slowly start increasing my pace, mind consumed by the feeling of her hot passages clamping around me. I feel her orgasm twice around me, body shuddering, as I make short and rapid thrusts into her. She never breaks our kiss, only ever wrapping her arms around me tighter and tighter.</p><p>Her third orgasm is enough to push me over the edge. And for the second time that day, I cum while kissing Asia. I don't stop thrusting as I do, and we both orgasms as I thrust deep into her and spurt shot after shot inside of her. I realize distantly that I'm cumming way more than I did earlier.</p><p>As both of our climaxes peter off, I finally break our kiss and look down at Asia. Immediately I spot the tears in the corners of her eyes.</p><p>"What's wrong?" I ask, confused. [Empathy] doesn't reveal any sort of sadness.</p><p>She shakes her head, and she smiles softly at me. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she says. "I'm so unbelievably happy right now. I didn't think I'd ever feel joy like this, especially not after the Church excommunicated me. But you've made me so much happier than I ever could have imagined."</p><p>Ah, tears of joy. I smile down at her. "You deserve it," I tell her. "I love you, Asia."</p><p>Her face lights up and she smiles back up at me. "I love you too Axton."</p><p>I'm about to ask her if she's interested in a round two when I notice the fatigue in her eyes and the way her eyelids are drooping. So instead, I kiss her on the forehead. "You go ahead and get some sleep, okay?"</p><p>She nods sleepily and lets her eyes close. She's asleep within moments. I cast [Clean Body] on her so she doesn't have to sleep all night with my semen leaking out of her and pull a blanket over her and tuck her in so she can sleep comfortably.</p><p>Getting off the bed, I quickly equip some pajama pants and sit down in front of my desk. As I do so, my attention is drawn to movement on top of the dresser, and I spot Kyu there, in her tiny form laying there. I can see that her panties are soaked, and she's breathing heavily, no doubt masturbating to the sight of me and Asia having sex.</p><p>"Enjoy the show?" I ask her, using [Sound Domain] to make sure Asia doesn't hear me. Kyu doesn't answer and just raises her hand to give me a thumbs up. "I thought I sent you away with Yua?"</p><p>She finally sits up, snorting as she does so. "Like hell I'm going to miss you having sex with the cute little nun for the first time," she says. "Plus, I also didn't want to miss girl number eight." With her words, a window appears in front of me.</p><p>
  <strong>Quest Complete!<br/>Lusting over the Love Fairy<br/>Objective: Sleep with 8 girls(8/8)<br/>Bonus Objective: Raise Kyu's affection to 80 or more<br/>Bonus Objective: Max out Kyu's affection<br/>Reward: Sex with Kyu unlocked, [Harem Leader] Perk, 8000 Hunie<br/>Bonus Reward: +15 Affection with Venus, [Harem Master] Perk, 8000 Hunie<br/>Bonus Reward: +20 Affection with Venus, [Harem King] Perk, 8000 Hunie</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>[Harem King] - Women will have no problem with you sleeping with multiple women, and will find the idea of being part of your harem slightly arousing</strong>
</p><p>I blink. "I should have guessed the mysterious Affection reward would be for your boss," I comment. "Am I going to meet her?"</p><p>"Hmm," Kyu thinks about it. "It's possible. She really only comes by for those who are promising, but you definitely fit that bill."</p><p>A thought occurs to me. "Does Affection even work on her?"</p><p>Kyu moves her hand in a so-so gesture. "Only as much as she lets it. That's kind of her whole schtick. With other girls, Affection is a measurement of how much she likes you, but there's also an aspect of it going the other way and affecting how much a girl likes you. Usually when Heart Crystals or bonus perks come into play. But that won't work for Venus, hers will always reflect how she feels about you."</p><p>"As expected from the Goddess of Love," I comment. "What about these harem perks? The one I got is pretty good, but what are the lesser versions like?"</p><p>"The Master one is the same thing as King except it doesn't turn girls on, and the Leader one only decreases feelings of jealousy from you sleeping around instead of removing it entirely," Kyu explains. "But is that really what you're most curious about?"</p><p>"No," I admit. "I simply wanted to leave the best reward for last." I get up and walk over to the dresser, once again storing my pants into my inventory, allowing my dick, still slightly slick with Asia's juices, to stand tall. "I can teleport us back to my apartment if you want some privacy," I say, teasing.</p><p>"Hold your horses big guy," Kyu says, ignoring my dick. Well, mostly. I can tell it's distracting her, but she flies up to eye level with me and puts her fists on her hips. "I may be horny for that dick, and you might have finally earned it, but I'm not so easy as that. I fully expect you to take me out on a date and buy me dinner first."</p><p>I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "Of course you do," I say. "You realize that I'm busy for the next three days at least, right? The last day before the Rating Game I plan on being a rest day unless we haven't trained enough, so that's the earliest I can take you out on a date."</p><p>"Then you'll have to wait until then," she replies, arms crossed and expression smug. "You made me wait for <em>weeks</em>, you can wait for a few more days."</p><p>"Yeah but now you have to wait to get laid while I'll be having foursomes every night," I point out.</p><p>"Look, there's a proper order to things, and you have to impress me on a date first," she snaps at me.</p><p>I raise my hands in surrender. "Alright alright," I say. "If that's your decision, then that's what we'll do. Next chance I get I'll take you out on a date, so keep your schedule open."</p><p>"Good," she says primly. "I look forward to it." With that said, she flies out of the room, heading off who knows where. Probably to dig through someone's panty drawer or something. I shake my head in disbelief before putting my pants back on and sitting down at the desk again.</p><p>I cast a look at my bed, where Asia is sleeping peacefully. It's so tempting to join her. But I sigh and look away. I've had my fun and time to relax, now's the time to grind my crafting skills. Still, today was a good day, and I can't stop smiling as I get to work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I’m on Patreon! I’d very much appreciate it.<br/>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: https://www.tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I’m glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p><p>AN: Montage time! Not gonna show a lot of stats or numbers until the end of the training. I ended up showing a bit more than I intended in the first section of this chapter, but oh well. I should have another chapter like this and then we'll be done with training.</p><p>Some of you might not be happy about the Race Change potion, but this is what I had imagined it being from the start. I apologize for any misunderstandings, I wasn't thinking about the potential implications when naming it. It was a potion that changed your race, and I didn't put any thought into it beyond that. And Race Upgrade or any other name I can think of off the top of my head doesn't sound as good. The experimentation scene was my way of showing how it actually works because it's important moving forward when we get to Axton's race changes.</p><p>Also, to pre-empt any "Axton's so worried about training but he did nothing but have sex all chapter", remember that I'm trying to montage things a bit. A lot of the training is boring and repetitive, so it doesn't get shown. Plenty of training is getting done between scenes though, don't you worry. But Axton is pretty much incapable of focusing only on training. Instead, he's aiming for a balance between focusing on improving himself and his girls and focusing on romance and sex. I'll show everyone's progress at the end of the next chapter, though for Axton's you can just visit his character sheet at the link above.</p><p>For those wondering, yes I have picked up Huniepop 2 and I've been playing it. I've been playing other games as well, Bloodborne and Hollow Knight, so I'm not that far into the game yet, but it's been fun so far. I'm very tempted to use the setup for Huniepop 2 as the endgame for this fic, but that might be too silly. I'll wait until I beat the game before deciding.</p><p>Speaking of...I've definitely overhyped the Kyu sex scene. It won't be next chapter, it'll be the one after that. But please know that I didn't mean to hype it up this much lol. I don't think I'll be able to meet the expectations I've set for it, but I'll do my best. Kyu deserves it after all.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. DxD: Getting Into Shape 04</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With Asia asleep in my bed, I turn my attention towards my crafting skills. After hopping into the Zombie dungeon and buying a bunch of Minor Catalysts from the Merchant there, I get to work making more Shadow Cloaks.</p><p>It doesn't take me long to turn all my catalysts to enchanted cloaks, and I'm left with 96 new Shadow Cloaks, bringing me to more than 100 of them. My Enchanting skill rises to 69, which is nice, but I was really hoping to be able to push it to 75. Oh well. I look at all the cloaks building up in my inventory. I should probably sell them now, huh? I did want to do some shopping at the Hunie Store and maybe use that coupon I got from the gacha.</p><p>I navigate through the app and go through the process of selling the 110 Wool Cloaks of Shadow and the 106 Shadow Cloaks I have, dumping them in the large box that appears in my room. When the box vanishes, my eyes widen at how much Hunie I get.</p><p>250 Hunie for each Wool Cloak of Shadow and a whopping 1000 Hunie for each Shadow Cloak means I'm now 133,500 Hunie richer. Added to what I had from my last sale and completing Kyu's quest, I now have 182,500 Hunie. Truly a mind-boggling amount.</p><p>It does make me wonder how much Hunie I got to customize this world. Kyu never mentioned specific amounts. Was it less than this? More? I'll ask her later so I have a good idea of how much I'll want to bring when I eventually world hop. Which is also something I'll have to ask her about. She's back to full power now, so that should be possible soon if it isn't already. Unless there's some arbitrary goal I have to reach first?</p><p>I shake my head. It doesn't really matter, I'm in no rush to move on, even temporarily. There's still so much for me to do here.</p><p>I turn my attention back to my phone and start browsing for things to buy. With this much Hunie, I can get almost anything I wanted. But what I'm most interested in are enchanted items, so I can learn their enchantments for myself.</p><p>Unfortunately, those are the most expensive ones. Still, I have enough Hunie to get a bunch. Accessories that increase HP, MP, and SP regen rates, rings that increase each of my stats, robes that protect against Holy and Dark magic, weapons that steal HP and MP, boots that allow for flight, and a dagger that can be telekinetically controlled are the basic ones I buy. None of them are very high quality, but they don't need to be for me to learn the enchantment.</p><p>Three of the items I get are special. A bag of soul storage, an arcane infuser, and what is basically a knock-off of my Hestia Knife, a short sword that grows in strength. The soul storage one would let me enchant items with the ability to be stored in the user's soul, letting them summon and unsummon it at will. The arcane infuser is for a future project. All it does is infuse items with MP.</p><p>The last one increases the quality of a weapon based on time, kills, and the legends that are told about it. It also costs a hundred thousand Hunie, but it's worth it, especially since I use the 50% Off Coupon to reduce that to just fifty thousand.</p><p>I'm left with just enough Hunie to buy a thousand potion vials, which I do. Cart full and coupon applied, I submit my order and teleport back to my apartment to pick up my items. The enchanted objects are immediately consumed for their enchantments and the vials I store into my inventory before teleporting back to the mountain resort.</p><p>After that, I turn back to Alchemy, but this time I'm not making potions. No, it's time for me to finally experiment with combining items. I take out a bit of chalk and draw a simple magic circle onto the desk. When I say simple, I mean very simple. It was basically six circles; five circles in an x formation and one larger circle to connect the four outside ones. Inside I draw straight lines to connect each circle to the others.</p><p>I dig through my inventory for five appropriate items. Like making potions, not every combination results in something. But unlike potions, I <em>have</em> to use five items. Less doesn't work at all.</p><p>But it doesn't take me too long to figure out something simple I can test with. An Iron Dagger, a bottle of Holy Water, a piece of living wood, a Cure Curse Potion, and a gold ingot. I put the dagger into the center circle and the other items in the circles around it. After that, all I have to do is pour a little mana into it and watch as the items sink into the simple chalk circle and combine into the center circle.</p><p>The result is a small wooden dagger proportioned like a cross. It has gold details etched into it and its edges are razor sharp.</p><p>
  <strong>Cross of Judgement<br/>A cross-shaped dagger imbued with holy power. Heals the Holy and the devout and curses the Unholy and heretical.</strong>
</p><p>It's not a bad item, though considering the value of the ingredients, it's roughly what I would expect. Depending on how strong the healing and cursing are, it might not actually be that good. I pick it up, pause for a moment, shrug, and then stab it into my hand.</p><p>A lance of pain shoots through me. I was curious about how it would judge me, and it seems like it deems me a heretic. Not surprising. I look at my status. I've barely lost any health, just under five percent, but I have a status effect on me now.</p><p>
  <strong>[Smited(Minor)] - Your body has been damaged by holy energies, all forms of regen are reduced for 5 seconds</strong>
</p><p>I watch as it ticks down from five seconds to zero before the status effect disappears entirely. Five seconds of reduced HP, MP, and SP regen for anyone not Holy or devout? Not bad, but not amazing either. Considering that I put an Ultimate tier potion and a Gold Ingot into it, I'm satisfied but not blown away.</p><p>But I suppose that's exactly the tier of effectiveness I should have expected. Unlike enchantment, I'm not improving an object, but instead mixing them all together into one. The result is definitely greater than the average of the items, but it's not as great as the sum.</p><p>Out of curiosity, I try learning the enchantment for the Cross of Judgement, but it doesn't work. I guess I can't just get whatever enchantments I want by combining items. A shame.</p><p>Still, it means I can't just combine recklessly. I can't just combine all my knives together to create one super knife, it wouldn't work like that. But I could still make my super knife.</p><p>I look in my inventory. Using my Hestia Knife as the base, I have three objects that stand out as extremely good ingredients to mix with it. But no good fourth one. There are some things I <em>can</em> use, but none of them match the quality of the other ingredients. I shake my head and set it aside. I'll figure something out later, or wait for a good gacha item or something.</p><p>I glance at the time. There are several more hours before people start waking up. Still, I have grinding left to do. I have plenty of cloaks left to enchant, so instead, I decide to start making more complicated clothes. Mostly wool jackets that are still pretty simple but a lot more fashionable. They use twice as much fabric but give me four times the experience. But they also take a lot longer, and in the time I have, I only make fifty.</p><p>Partway through my crafting session, I'm interrupted by a text message. I pull up my phone to see a text from Serafall. I texted her about the specific things I wanted for the house earlier and she had told me that they wouldn't be a problem. But maybe something came up? I open the text to see two images attached.</p><p>The first image is of Serafall dressed in a magical girl outfit. Not her normal one, but one that looked like a sexy cosplay version of her normal outfit. It's a lot tighter and shows a lot more skin, but it still covers everything important. The skirt is short enough that I can see her panties. She has a sultry expression on her face and her hands are pressing her tits together to increase the effectiveness of the cleavage the outfit shows.</p><p>The second image is even better. It's her in the same outfit but she's shoved the top part up to show off her tits, one of which she's groping. Her other hand is down below her skirt, the small amount of fabric moved aside so I can clearly see her hand down her panties, the bulge of her fingers making it obvious that she's a knuckle deep into herself at the time of the picture.</p><p>As I'm appreciating the pictures, my phone buzzes again and I see a new text from Serafall.</p><p><span class="u">Serafall</span>: <em>Saw you had some pictures saved in that tablet you gave me and thought I'd offer you some replacement ones while I borrow it ;)</em></p><p>Having the best Satan at 94 Affection sure did come with a lot of nice perks. I'll have to focus on Sona as soon as this training camp is done. I've been using [Erotic Dreams] on her every night I've been here, but that's just laying the foundation. I want to have both her and Serafall in my bed ASAP.</p><p>I send her a text back telling her I appreciate the pictures a lot and that I'd put them to good use before I go back to grinding my [Tailoring].</p><p>A few minutes before I would normally go to start making breakfast I clean up my stuff and make my way to the bed where Asia is still sleeping.</p><p>"Asia," I call out to her softly while shaking her lightly with a hand on her shoulder. "It's time to wake up."</p><p>Slowly her eyes open, and I remember that Asia is not a morning person. She looks at me blearily for a while before nodding and sitting up. The blanket slides off of her as she does so, and I'm treated to the sight of a naked Asia stretching as she yawns, waking up.</p><p>"How'd you sleep last night?" I ask her, a grin on my face.</p><p>"Good," is her single-word answer, but then she frowns. I can see the gears turning in her head as she looks around. But the spark of recognition doesn't happen until she looks down. A blush creeps up her face as she realizes her state and remembers what happened last night, and she tenses a little, but I'm extremely pleased to see her almost immediately relax. She looks back at me and smiles. "Really good!"</p><p>"I'm glad," I say, and it's an understatement. Seeing her now, comfortable and happy in her nudity and in having lost her virginity and waking up in my bed means that I succeeded in my efforts with her. "I'm about to go down and make breakfast. Do you want me to teleport you to your room so you can start getting ready for the day?"</p><p>She nods and gets up. I grab her by the hand and step backward, causing us to appear in her room. I then pull her closer to me and into my arms before I kiss her. She places her hands on my chest and leans into the kiss.</p><p>"I'll see you downstairs," I say after I pull back. She nods, and I teleport to the kitchen to start making food.</p><hr/><p>The atmosphere of my one on one training with Koneko is a little awkward. I want to try to encourage her to embrace Senjutsu, but she's still tense, and I'm hesitant to push it. I know that the story she knows is bullshit, but I don't have a way to know that or a line of reasoning figured out that would lead to a similar outcome.</p><p>So instead, I settle for us training Iron Body, taking turns hitting the other with our strongest attacks while the other blocks the damage with the technique. It's a simple training method, but effective, and no risk of her accidentally using Senjutsu again.</p><p>Halfway through our training, I get a notification from the System.</p><p>
  <strong>[Ticket Scratcher] Perk Activated!<br/>A lucky event has occurred!</strong>
</p><p>Oh? I quickly expand my senses and skills, looking for something out of the ordinary. I find it almost immediately, a figure in the distance with a good line of sight on us that definitely isn't supposed to be here. [Void Sight] gives me a good look at her.</p><p>A short woman in a revealing kimono with black cat ears and a black cat tail. Kuroka? I guess her appearing right as I'm struggling with figuring out Koneko's issues is definitely lucky. Though things aren't as straightforward as me just needing to arrange a confrontation between the two. Things won't go that well.</p><p>She suddenly glances around, eyes sharp and searching. Did she notice the skill? Or something else? Either way, I decide to play it safe and deactivate [Void Sight]. As far as I know, there's no way to detect the skill itself, but perhaps she could sense being watched? Either way, I don't want her running.</p><p>Thankfully, she isn't spooked enough to flee, and she sticks around as Koneko and I finish our training. I [Void Travel] away like I normally do to start training the next person, but instead of heading to Atsuko, I appear right behind Kuroka.</p><p>Her reaction is instantaneous, and she whirls around, fingers ending in claws that aim straight for my throat.</p><p>Unfortunately for her, Void pumps through my veins and my stats with [Void Blood] active rival a Satan class Devil. I easily catch her wrist, stopping her attack dead. Her eyes widen and she tugs on her arm to try to escape and make some space, but my hold on her doesn't budge an inch, so she goes still instead. I use the chance to use [Observe] on her.</p><p><strong>Kuroka<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 1,919<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Nekoshou)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 58,680<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 212,820<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 58,500<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 978<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 975<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 2,751<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 3,547<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 3,392<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 1,089<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 777</strong></p><p>She's strong. The strongest non-Satan I've seen. Unless you count Grayfia, but she's barely a step removed from being a Satan herself. If I wasn't using [Void Blood], all of her stats would be higher than mine, though my STR would be pretty close to hers. But with [Void Blood] active, my lowest stat is equal to her highest one.</p><p>"The Underworld's most wanted criminal and the older sister of Koneko," I say, voice casual. "What are you doing here Kuroka?"</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions perk activated!<br/>+25 Affection with Kuroka</strong>
</p><p>"You seem to have me at a disadvantage," she says, tone casual. But her calm act is easy to see through when [Empathy] detects her rising panic.</p><p>"In more ways than one," I joke as I squeeze her wrist slightly, just enough to make it clear what I'm talking about. "But I'll tell you my name. I'm Axton, an independent who is currently allied with the Devils."</p><p>Her nervousness increases. "So what, now that you've caught me, you're gonna call your friends and arrest me?" She tries to make her tone teasing, but her acting isn't good enough to sell it. Internally, I frown. What is up with her? Sure, from her perspective I'm no pushover, but she's panicking way more than she should be. She's barely even tried to get out of my grip.</p><p>"No," I deny eventually. "I'm allied with the Devils, but I haven't been asked to capture their outlaws, and while I'm sure they'd be very grateful, my relationship with them is already good enough that I'm not so inclined to capture someone who I just learned about yesterday."</p><p>Some of the panic disappears, but not as much as I expected. "So you'll let me go then?" she asks hopefully.</p><p>I smile. "Not yet," I say, and I can feel the sliver of hope that was building up vanish.</p><p>She drops the calm act, choosing to be angry instead. "What do you want then? If you're not going to capture me then unhand me."</p><p>"If I do that you might run," I counter. "And that would be inconvenient for me. Besides, all I want to do is ask you some questions."</p><p>She narrows her eyes at me. "What sort of questions?"</p><p>"Personal ones that you probably don't want to answer," I admit. "Like what really happened that day you killed your King."</p><p>She freezes, eyes widening as she stares at me. She snaps out of it and puts a confident mask on though. "I don't know what you mean, isn't it common knowledge what happened? I went mad with power and killed him because I could."</p><p>Even without my metaknowledge, it's an obvious lie. If she wasn't so off-balance by whatever has her so spooked she'd probably be able to lie more convincingly, but she's like a live wire right now; exposed and dangerous.</p><p>"See, I don't believe that," I say. "I only learned about that happening yesterday, but after looking into things a bit and thinking over it, it just doesn't sit right." She glares at me but doesn't comment, so I continue.</p><p>"You go drunk with power, presumably because you're super talented at like what, three different kinds of magic? If you count Senjutsu? And so you lash out at your King, the one who gave you the Bishop piece which increased your magic ability and let you use Devil magic?"</p><p>"Being drunk on power means you don't exactly make rational decisions," Kuroka points out.</p><p>"True," I admit. "But you made the rational decision right after that, didn't you? You fled instead of continuing your rampage. So did killing your King bring you down from your power trip? Or were you not on one?"</p><p>Our eyes lock and I can tell she has to hold back the urge to flinch. She attempts to pull her hand out of my grip but my STR stat is four times as high as hers is right now, and her hand doesn't budge. "Obviously I sobered up," she says. "So I fled. I knew that the Devils wouldn't forgive me no matter what."</p><p>"That's almost believable," I say. "But there are still two things that bother me. First, how did the investigation team reach the conclusion that you went mad with power? That's not exactly something that leaves behind evidence. To say they figured out a motive like that when you escaped capture and there's no evidence of anything wrong smells like a cover-up."</p><p>She opens her mouth, to argue presumably, but I continue. "And secondly, you've been lying to me this whole conversation," I say, and she freezes. "Oh yes, I can tell," I bluff. "I'm no holy man but I've learned a few tricks in my time, and your lies stand out clear as day."</p><p>The panic is back, but this time it comes alongside the anger. "So what?" she spits out. "Either way, I killed him. Why I did it doesn't matter."</p><p>"It might not matter to you, and it might not matter to the Devils," I say, a small amount of anger starting to leak into my voice. "But it sure fucking matters to Koneko."</p><p>She pauses, not expecting that. "What about Shirone?" she snaps.</p><p>I unconsciously clench my hand around her wrist a little tighter. "What about her? You mean besides the <em>deep</em> trauma that is a direct result of your actions? The fact that she was almost killed just for being your sister? That even now she's deathly afraid of getting stronger for fear that she turns out like you?!" I'm almost yelling now so I take a moment, take a deep breath, and rein in my anger.</p><p>Kuroka's eyes are wide with shock. "Is that why she hides her ears?" she whispers.</p><p>Ah, so that's how it is. I sigh, the anger leaving me. "You didn't know." It's not a question, but she shakes her head anyways. "You came to check up on Koneko right? That's why you're here?" A nod. "How often do you do that?"</p><p>"A few times a year," she answers, the fight gone out of her, though there isn't any fear or panic either. I decide to take a gamble and let go of her wrist. She shoots me a grateful look even as she rubs at her wrist. "I never get close, and I'm never able to learn much about her, I just make sure she's okay. I wasn't ever too worried, I know of the Gremory's reputation, and the fact that Sirzechs protected Shirone from the others who wanted to punish her for what I did helped me trust her with the Gremory Heiress."</p><p>"But you never got close enough to do much more than see her, and you didn't really hear anything about her, did you?" I ask.</p><p>"There weren't exactly any rumors about her," Kuroka says. "I noticed she was withdrawn, but even before she was a pretty quiet girl. And I thought that she hid her cat ears because the Gremory girl spends so much time in the human world and it was just easier for her to keep them hidden all the time rather than risk forgetting about it."</p><p>"She very rarely shows them," I tell her. "The only times I've seen her ears and tail are when she's either extremely relaxed or fighting one on one with me, and according to Rias it's surprising that I saw them at all."</p><p>Kuroka is silent for a moment. "Is she really so scared of ending up like me?" she asks in a soft voice.</p><p>"She reflexively used Senjutsu in our spar yesterday," I tell her. "Despite it not hurting me, once she realized what she had done she had a panic attack and was unresponsive for a while. 'Scared' is probably an understatement."</p><p>Kuroka flinches, guilt radiating from her. "If I had known..." she starts, but trails off.</p><p>When she doesn't start again I speak up. "Why did you kill your King?" I ask.</p><p>She sighs. "Fine, I'll explain. The truth is, being part of his Peerage came with a condition. To be a subject in his experiments. I didn't have a lot of options after the deaths of our parents, so I accepted so I could take care of Koneko." She folds her arms and looks away. "The experiments were...unpleasant. They were painful and invasive. But I got stronger, and he stayed happy, and Koneko was happy, so it was worth it."</p><p>"Until?" I ask.</p><p>"Until it wasn't," she continues. "Until further experiments stopped showing results, even as they got worse. I hit a plateau, and he couldn't figure out why." Her expression turns dark, and I feel anger from her, but it's a different kind of anger. "One day, he decided the problem was a lack of data, that he was working with too few variables. So he went back on our deal, and decided he was going to start the same process on Shirone."</p><p>She scoffs, shaking her head. "I don't think he even remembered making a deal with me that she was off-limits. The thought that there could possibly be a reason he couldn't use her as he used me didn't even occur to him. He brazenly stated his intentions in front of me after all. I suppose I had been so cooperative up to that point he didn't think twice about it."</p><p>She looks at me, and her eyes are like ice. "That was why I killed him. I was not drunk and feeling powerful. In fact, I don't think my mind has ever been as clear as it was at that moment. I knew what the consequences of my actions would be, they flashed through my mind in excruciating detail. But I also knew the consequences of not doing anything." Her fists clench. "And between the two, it was an easy choice."</p><p>She shakes her head, clearing her expression, and her anger recedes a bit. "Them going after Shirone for what <em>I</em> did was a bit unexpected, but Sirzechs stepped in before I had to do anything drastic."</p><p>I already knew the story she told, but to hear it from her gave it far more weight. "I know I'm the one that asked you, so it may seem strange for me to ask this now, but why did you tell me that?" To be honest, I never expected to get a full answer out of her. In fact, this conversation really hasn't gone the way I expected it to at all. I thought it would be banter and words games, but it started out with me somehow intimidating her and then turned into this rather serious moment. I check her Affection, but it's still at 25 and didn't rise when I wasn't looking.</p><p>She laughs a little. "That is strange, but at the same time, it's a reasonable question. After all, even my allies think I did it for the thrill of it and out of a desire to fight strong people." She shakes her head again before looking at me, a serious expression on her face. "I don't know what you are, but I do know one thing. You didn't ask me for your own benefit or to report to someone else. You're asked for Shirone's sake, right? I saw you training her earlier, and I saw the way she walked off those blows of yours. She's come a long way since last time I saw her."</p><p>That does make sense, and it's even true. "In that case, you can help. Explain your story to her, I'm sure that will help her get-"</p><p>"I refuse," she cuts me off, surprising me. Before I can recover my wits, she continues. "That girl...You wouldn't guess it at first, but she can be extremely stubborn about some things." She shakes her head. "If it's as bad as you say, she won't listen to me, and she certainly won't believe me."</p><p>"If I'm there as well, backing up-" I start, but she interrupts me again.</p><p>"She'll just think you've been tricked by me," she says. "I'm sorry. I'd like for her to get over her fears and embrace what she is as well, but any help I could offer would only backfire."</p><p>"Fuck," I spit out. "Back to square one again then." I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Getting your name cleared isn't exactly an option either, is it? As far as the Devil's care, what you did might actually be worse in their eyes."</p><p>"I suspect the Satans have an inkling as to what actually happened," Kuroka admits. "It's true that there's really no way for them to know my motive, but I didn't do anything to his research, it's possible they had an idea after going over it. They can't condone what I did, but they could keep Shirone safe, and they could spread a story that would have me less targeted than the truth." She scoffs. "Devils. The way most of them view things, killing my King to protect my sister is worse than killing him out of bloodlust."</p><p>I grimace. "I have some political favor with the Satans, or one of them at least but…" I trail off before shaking my head. "Not enough to get your name cleared, especially if they are really aware of the truth. I need more time before I'd have enough pull for that."</p><p>She looks at me, her gaze searching. "You would do that? Trade in any goodwill you have with them to clear my name?"</p><p>"To help Shirone? Yes." Not that it wouldn't be something I couldn't recover from. The only Satans I cared about are Serafall and Sirzechs, and so long as I stick with Serafall's plan and so long as I assist and protect Rias, I'm guaranteed a good relationship with both. It would temporarily reduce how many favors I could get from them though.</p><p>She spends a moment examining my face before turning away. "Don't bother. I'm perfectly content with my current life." She frowns. "But Shirone is a different matter." Her brow furrows as she's lost in thought.</p><p>"Your best bet would probably be a two-pronged attack," she speaks up after a few moments. "First, continue the train of thought you approached me with. By yourself, you came close to the correct answer. If you can make her doubt the 'truth' that she knows, it could help break past her stubbornness. For the final piece you need, draw her attention to what she remembers of him."</p><p>I frown. "What would she remember?"</p><p>"I was very obvious about making sure he never had a chance to be in the same room as her," Kuroka explains. "She should remember that much. At the time, she didn't think much of it. But now that she's older, and if you present it the right way, it should be easy for her to realize I was protecting her from him. There were dozens of tiny clues, she should remember enough of them to figure it out."</p><p>"Using that combined with the suspicious nature of the investigation, you think those will be enough to make her doubt?" I ask.</p><p>"Just enough to lower her defenses," Kuroka specifies. "Which is where the second part comes in." She locks gazes with me. "More importantly than learning the truth about me, she needs to overcome her fear of herself. So if you really care about her, reassure her that you won't let her 'go berserk'. For something like yourself, keeping that promise should be well within your ability, no?"</p><p>I frown at her referring to me as a 'something', but I let it slide for now. "Yeah, but in the first place there's no chance of that, so she just needs to believe that I can stop her. And sure, I can convince her of that. You think that'll be enough though?"</p><p>Kuroka shrugs. "If you want it to happen soon? It's your best shot."</p><p>I nod in understanding. There's no surefire answer when it comes to this sort of thing. "In that case, thank you. For trusting me with the information and for helping me. And I'm sorry for scaring you. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first spotted you."</p><p>She looks at me for a moment before relaxing a little, her shoulders no longer so tense. "It's fine," she says. Then she smirks. "Though usually, I prefer it when a guy buys me dinner before they get so rough with me."</p><p>Seeing the flirting for the subject change it is, I go along with it, a grin on my face. "I'll keep that in mind for next time then. Dinner, and <em>then</em> be rough with you."</p><p>She laughs. "Good, don't forget it." She then turns around. "If that's all, I'll take my leave now."</p><p>"Wait," I call out. "One more thing." She looks back at me over her shoulder. "K- Shirone and I train at around the same time every day, and tomorrow during that time I'll attempt to convince her to use her Senjutsu. If you want to watch at that time, or if you want to hang around during our training, I won't tell anyone. Aside from me, there's only one person who might notice you, and he's loyal to me. I'll tell him to leave you alone and he won't say anything."</p><p>She looks at me for a moment longer, face and emotions unreadable, before turning away. "I'll think about it," is all she says before a teleportation circle appears beneath her feet and she disappears, leaving me alone.</p><p>I sigh. That went...okay. Not perfect, but at least I have a plan. I'm worried about the possible consequences of it failing and how that might impact not only Koneko's performance in the Rating game but her relationship with me. But I think the risk is worth it. Not only for her but for my own plans as well.</p><p>I step forward, vanishing. I need to let Wilhelm know that Kuroka might be hanging around.</p><hr/><p>Rias lets out another moan as my knuckles knead into her oiled back. As I've been doing these massages I've slowly been increasing the strength of [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity], causing each massage I give to feel better than the last. And it seems like I've crossed the threshold where Rias starts moaning.</p><p>She's biting her lip, trying to hold it in, but I still hear them. I wonder briefly if I'm pushing it too far. So far I've been careful with my erotic skills, only using them at a time and strength where they can be written off or explained as the person being attracted to me or just sensitive. There's a limit to how far I can take that though.</p><p>But I don't think this is past that limit. It's a massage, it feels good, and she's been having erotic dreams about me. Still, I'll have to not go above this, or else they might start getting suspicious. Aika already is I think, but I'm not worried about her of all people figuring it out.</p><p>Sadly, the massage eventually comes to an end, and I run out of muscles to massage. Also, Akeno is waiting outside the door, having gotten here after Rias for once.</p><p>"There you go," I say to Rias as I pat her on the leg. I quickly sneak a peek between her thighs, but there's no gap between them that would allow me to see her pussy. A shame, though it's just a sign of how nice and plump her thighs are. "You're all done."</p><p>She gets up and wraps a towel around herself, face a little red but otherwise not showing any sign of embarrassment. "Thank you, Axton. Your massages are getting better every day."</p><p>"A combination of you guys being tired and me getting to practice much more often than usual is to blame for that," I say.</p><p>"At this rate, I'm tempted to hire you full time as a masseuse," she laughs.</p><p>"There's no need for that," I say. "Any time I'm free and you're in the mood, I'd be happy to give you a massage."</p><p>"Careful what you promise," she teases. "I might just take you up on that." With a wink and a wave goodbye, she opens the door and leaves, allowing Akeno to enter.</p><p>"Sounds like she had a good time," Akeno comments after she closes the door behind her. "Have you started seducing her as well?"</p><p>I roll my eyes. "That was just the normal massage making her do that," I say as I watch Akeno unwrap her towel and lay down. "She seemed to be a bit sensitive today though."</p><p>"She has been working pretty hard lately," Akeno admits as I get started on her massage. "Harder than I've ever seen her work actually."</p><p>"She just needed the right motivation I guess," I comment. I'd be pretty motivated if I had a marriage with Riser as a threat on the horizon.</p><p>"I don't think you should underplay your own role in things," Akeno says, her breathing slightly heavier as the effects of my skills start to arouse her. "I've tried to convince her in the past to exhibit more control over her Power of Destruction, but she never took it seriously. But lately, her performance and control have been impressive. She took on the boss nearly by herself today."</p><p>We had faced the third guardian of the seal today, a bear that was at least twenty feet tall. The attack I had taught Rias the day before was a perfect counter to it, so I had her take the lead and had the others support her. Destruction Scattershot is the attack I described to her during our first day of training, an attack that covered a large area efficiently by shooting a large number of small orbs. Unlike Destruction Gatling, they all fired at the same time, though it wasn't as good at a range.</p><p>But against a big and slow enemy? She tore it to shreds. Each shot of her power took massive chunks out of its flesh and HP. It was easily our quickest boss fight yet, taking less than a minute. It helped that there were only a handful of other monsters supporting it.</p><p>"She learns quickly," I say. "I do think the motivation has more to do with things than my teaching. You guys would manage even without me." Not strictly true, they lost in canon after all, but a large part of that was not having an answer for Phenex regeneration and being outnumbered.</p><p>"Too bad you don't have any tips for me," Akeno teases.</p><p>I roll my eyes. "I might know a bit of magic, but I'm no magician. You're already talented at control over a wide degree of elements and other forms of magic, and now that you know the importance of leveraging the right type of magic against an enemy, there's not really anything else I can teach you. Rias just needed to have her eyes opened a bit, and I've provided her a concrete path on how to expand her control over her power."</p><p>Akeno hums in agreement but doesn't reply. I continue her massage in silence, and it's starting to look like nothing is going to happen this time. We've been taking turns initiating our fooling around, and it's her turn right now.</p><p>But as I finish her massage I spot a look in her eyes that I recognize. "Is the next person going to be here soon?" she asks.</p><p>I shake my head. "You got here pretty late today, only Koneko is left and she's still enjoying her bath." Asia had moved up in the order, coming right after Aika did, and Atsuko was right after her. Of course, no actual massages had happened with any of them. Even Asia has taken to sex really well, though I have to be much more gentle with her than I do with the Devils.</p><p>"Then how about we swap positions for a bit?" She asks, a teasing grin on her face. She gets off the table. "Strip and lay down, face up."</p><p>"Yes ma'am," I say, a smile on my own face. Whether I'm the one in charge or my partner is, it doesn't matter to me, and I know that Akeno likes playing both roles. I stash my clothes and lay down. I'm not at a full erection yet, but that quickly changes when Akeno climbs onto the table above me, her face at my crotch, her warm breath brushing my cock. And her crotch is right above me, her pussy lips glistening with her own arousal.</p><p>"Be a good boy and keep yourself busy," I hear Akeno says, and she lowers herself onto my face, filling my view entirely. I reach up to grab her by the hips and I do as she says, getting to work eating her out, even as I use [Void Sight] to be able to see what she's doing on her end.</p><p>She bites her lip and moans slightly as I get to work, but she only lets that distract her for a moment before she turns her attention to my now erect dick.</p><p>I get to see an expression on her face that I've never seen before, nervousness. It's not strong, but it's clear that this is new territory for her. She doesn't hesitate for long though, and soon she lowers her head, her soft and full lips wrapping around the tip of my penis.</p><p>I twitch involuntarily as I feel her tongue probe against the sensitive skin of the head of my dick, something that seems to encourage her. She lowers her head more, taking more of my dick into her mouth.</p><p>I've had blowjobs before, but this is my first time in the sixty-nine position. Being able to indulge in the erotic taste of her while her tongue dances around my shaft, exploring it even as I explore her.</p><p>I can feel her large tits press against my lower stomach as she lowers herself onto me more, and I'm able to probe her deeper as she rests more on my face. I decide my tongue isn't doing enough work and stick two fingers inside of her, looking for her g-spot even as my tongue flicks at her clit.</p><p>Akeno moans around my dick and lowers her head more, and I feel the hot and wet walls of her throat as she takes more of me inside of her. In response, I increase the pace of my fingers, and in moments she cums.</p><p>Her thighs clamp around my head and even her throat seems to squeeze me tighter as she cums. But rather than finish there, she starts enthusiastically bobbing her head up and down, seeking to make me cum.</p><p>It only takes her a couple minutes to do so, and my back arches as I pump chocolate-flavored semen straight into her throat. She latches on, working hard to swallow spurt after spurt of my cum, making sure not to waste a drop. I don't cum an abnormally large amount, especially since I had cum a few times already not long ago, but I'm still impressed that she manages to get everything, not spilling a single drop.</p><p>I lay back and catch my breath as she gets off of me, her legs shaky. She catches my eye and I can see a playful twinkle in hers as she opens her mouth and sticks her tongue out, showing me that she swallowed it all.</p><p>I sit up and look at her. "I know we've been doing this whole back and forth thing, but I have to admit, I really like both of us feeling good."</p><p>"That's because you're someone who likes to give as much as they receive," she says. "But then again, so am I. We should do it more often." She winks at me.</p><p>"You know I'm always down for that," I laugh. "Though it looks like our time right now is up. Koneko is on her way."</p><p>"I'll see you next time then," she says with a wave. She exits the room, not even grabbing her towel this time, naked. I shake my head and put my clothes back on. I need to clean up a bit before Koneko gets here, and after that, I can join my girls in the bath again.</p><hr/><p>I use my Cloth Cutter and a bit of MP to cut through a thick stack of wool, cutting out a pattern that is muscle memory at this point. I'm only half paying attention to it though, the majority of my focus on the phone currently being held between my shoulder and my ear.</p><p>"<em>So then Miyamoto started getting mad, like the President was specifically targeting him</em>," the voice of Ruruko comes from the speaker of my phone. "<em>Never mind that she had just shown him the entire budget and that all the other clubs that didn't compete in anything were getting the same budget. The budget that </em>I <em>worked so hard on.</em>"</p><p>"And I'm sure losing his temper worked out well for him," I comment sarcastically.</p><p>Ruruko laughs. "<em>Have you seen the President mad yet? She might be a water mage, but she gets very icy when she gets angry. Cold and sharp. All she had to do was repeat her explanation and Miyamoto was cowering in his boots. He left thanking us for our time and the budget.</em>"</p><p>"I wish I had seen it, that sounds extremely amusing," I reply. It also sounded pretty hot, to tell the truth.</p><p>"<em>Well if you hadn't gone and been so nice and decided to help out Gremory, you could have seen it</em>," comes her rebuttal.</p><p>"I miss you too," I say in a kind voice. "If you want, I can hop over real quick, we could watch a movie or something."</p><p>"<em>We both know you're too busy for that,</em>" she comments.</p><p>"Not true," I deny. "Everyone else is asleep."</p><p>"<em>And you're not doing anything besides talking to me right now?</em>" Ruruko asks.</p><p>I pause, looking down at the fabric I'm working on. "Nothing that can't wait."</p><p>She sighs. "<em>I appreciate the thought, but it's fine. I want to see you again, but it's just a few more days. I'd rather you focus on helping Gremory.</em>" She pauses for a second. "<em>We all really appreciate it, you know. Even the President looks like she's carrying a bit less weight on her shoulders. She was really worried about what was going to happen to Gremory.</em>"</p><p>"I see," I comment. "Well, if you're sure."</p><p>"<em>Don't worry about it,</em>" she reassures me. "<em>Once Gremory beats down that Phenex dude we can celebrate and then have a big slumber party. I want to meet Asia!</em>"</p><p>"I'm getting a new place soon, one that should have plenty of space," I say. "I can easily play host to those."</p><p>"<em>Oh yeah, the President mentioned you made a deal with her sister that included a big house. She had to give permission for Serafall to buy the land. Oh, and speaking of Sona, guess what else she's been doing?</em>"</p><p>"What's that?" I ask as I start to sew the cut pieces of cloth together.</p><p>"<em>Playing chess</em>," she giggles. "<em>And not just playing it. She's studying grandmaster games as well. Whenever we ask her about it she blushes but she says she's just keeping her skills polished.</em>"</p><p>That's adorable. "I'll have to make sure my own skills don't get too rusty while I'm busy out here," I say. "I wouldn't want to disappoint her when we have our next match."</p><p>She laughs again, but it turns into a yawn. "<em>Oh wow. I didn't realize it was this late,</em>" she says. "<em>I should probably head to bed soon.</em>"</p><p>"Alright then," I say. "You do that. Good night, sleep well. I love you."</p><p>"<em>Love you too! Good night!</em>" she makes a kissing noise and then hangs up. I pull the phone down from my ear and look at the call duration. An hour and thirteen minutes. It was nice talking to Ruruko again. She's a pretty energetic girl, and just talking to her helps reinvigorate me.</p><p>I'm about to turn back to my [Tailoring] when I quickly use [Void Detect] and notice something off. Frowning, I put down my tools and stand up. [Void Travel] brings me to the study downstairs where I find Rias sitting at a desk, glasses on and studying the information on Riser and his Peerage.</p><p>"I would've thought you had those memorized by now," I comment from over her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.</p><p>"Axton!" she admonishes me, one hand over her chest. "I didn't hear you come in."</p><p>I grin. "Sorry. It looked like you were pretty absorbed in your reading." My expression becomes more serious. "It's late, you should be resting rather than reading the same information you've gone over a few dozen times already."</p><p>She sighs and turns back to the documents. "I know, but I couldn't sleep. The day of the Rating Game is getting closer and closer and-"</p><p>"And you could kick his ass even if you fought him right now," I interrupt her and place my hands on her shoulders. She's wearing an old-fashioned nightgown, thick and long enough to reach her ankles. "You've grown a lot in just these few days. Not just in terms of strength, but far more importantly in terms of mindset and teamwork. Each of your Peerage members are worth at <em>least</em> three of his, and when they work together, they'll be able to sweep Riser's peerage. Then you just have to deal with the Phenex regen, and we've already come up with strategies for that. You'll be fine."</p><p>She doesn't respond to me, but I can feel her slump slightly beneath my hands. The room is quiet. I can't see her face and her emotions are both too muted and too jumbled for [Empathy] to give me an idea of what's going on in her head.</p><p>"Axton, how strong are you really?" she asks, and I freeze, caught off guard.</p><p>I debate my options. I can lie, and claim to only be a little stronger than her...but it's a weak lie. My actions have consistently put me as confidently above all of them in terms of strength. I'm a Rogue who brawls better than her Rook and has more powerful magic than her or her Queen. I regularly spar with the Red Dragon Empress when she's using multiple boosts, though admittedly her strength has started to eclipse mine.</p><p>The point is, I've been doing a shit job pretending to be weak enough for her to reincarnate. But as I try to think about the downsides of that, I can't really think of any. Honestly, the ploy of trying to get her to do sexual stuff to entice me to join her peerage has passed. She has the Red Dragon Empress and talented mage, and she knows she can't convince me before the Rating Game. Her motivation to recruit me has decreased, especially since I've taken more of a teacher role.</p><p>"I don't really have a good frame of reference," I admit. "So far, most of the people I've met have either been far below me in terms of strength, or far above me. Wilhelm is close to my current physical strength, but I'm also just as talented with magic."</p><p>She sighs. "So I never could have had you join my peerage."</p><p>"What do you mean?" I ask, feigning ignorance. I think I can get away with this much.</p><p>"You don't know?" she asks, genuinely surprised. "A Devil can't reincarnate someone too much stronger than them. Or well, they might be able to, but it usually either requires a mutated piece or some other specific circumstances. But I don't have any more mutated pieces. My only option would be to ask a stronger Devil to reincarnate you and then trade you to me."</p><p>"And that works?" I ask. I hadn't considered that as a possibility.</p><p>"So long as they actually trade you, yes," she says. "So it'd have to be someone I trust. Probably my brother." She looks over her shoulder at me. "Would you be willing to do that?"</p><p>I grimace and shake my head. The game is over, and playing coy isn't the right call anymore. "Sorry, I have no intentions of joining a Peerage." Besides not wanting to be part of a Peerage, I have another reason for not joining. My Race Change potion. Becoming a Devil either before or after using it could give rise to issues.</p><p>If I use the Race Change potion before becoming a Devil, then I lose a lot of the benefits of it when I become a Devil. I've been paying attention to the stat growth of each of the members of Rias's peerage. And Koneko doesn't grow faster than the others, despite being a Nekoshou turned Devil. Any racial modifiers to stat growth get changed to the new race, and while it's possible I'd been an exception to that, that's a gamble I don't want to take.</p><p>But using the potion after becoming a Devil is no good either. For one, I still just don't want to be part of a Peerage. And second, changing my race while being part of a Peerage might screw with something. Would I still be part of her peerage? Would the Evil Piece just pop out of me? Or would it disappear, leaving her missing an Evil Piece? I'd lose the benefits of being a Devil either way.</p><p>"I see," she says, looking back away from me. She's silent for a moment. "You know, I think I've known that you're strong for a while. Or at least suspected. But I didn't want it to be true, so I ignored it."</p><p>"Oh?" I ask, wondering where I messed up. Was I too casual with the Fallen? With Serafall?</p><p>"I think it's when you came back with Atsuko and Aika being so much stronger than they were before that it really clicked," she continues. "After the incident with the Fallen, it was clear you were at least as strong as one of my peerage members, maybe even as strong as me."</p><p>She sighs. "And then that day happened. Where you came back after a morning of training and my Peerage member was stronger than I could have hoped to get her by myself with a dedicated week of training. And then the way you interacted with Riser and even Grayfia. Those were not the actions of a human at my level of strength."</p><p>She's silent for another moment. I'm unsure what to say, and while I'm thinking about it, she picks back up again. "I think that's why I trusted you so much though. Why I trusted you with my Peerage and their training. I've been raised since birth to be the next Gremory Heiress, and taking the lead is something I naturally do. But this entire time I've been deferring to you, and the only strange thing about it is how <em>not</em> strange it felt to do that."</p><p>"Because I'm strong?" I ask.</p><p>"Because you're reliable, I think," she corrects me. Then she nods. "Yeah, that's it. It's because it felt like I could rely on you. So I've let you take the lead, let you organize everything, and order me and my peerage around. And it's paid off. We've grown a lot thanks to you." She sighs and rubs at her eyes. "But I'm still nervous. I can't stop worrying about it."</p><p>"Which is perfectly understandable, considering what's at stake," I say. "And I won't say don't worry, because I know that won't help anything, but I will repeat what I said earlier. If the Rating Game happened right now, you'd still kick his ass. A lazy guy like him doesn't stand a chance against the hard work you're doing."</p><p>I reach over her shoulder and grab the papers she was reading. "That being said, part of training is getting the proper amount of rest," I say as I pull the papers away from her. "Which means you should call it a night here."</p><p>She sighs. "I know," she admits. I step backward as she gets up from the desk. "I think I can get to sleep now." She smiles at me, and I can sense that her emotions have calmed down some. "Good night Axton, and thanks."</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p><p>It's been a while since I've gained some Affection with her. I was wondering what I needed to increase that. I guess a heart-to-heart was the perfect thing. She leaves the room and I use [Void Detect] to make sure she goes to bed while I put away the information she was looking at. She does, and I [Void Travel] back to my room.</p><p>I check the time. Plenty of time left in the night for a quick dungeon run to farm a few materials and to train some skills, and finally take care of something I've been putting off for a while.</p><hr/><p>A cool wind ruffles my hair as I look around. The setting sun, hidden behind the mountains around me, casts the sky in orange and purple.</p><p>With a frown, I pull out my phone and use the GPS to find out where I am. I then compare it to my map. I had decided to finally use one of the Treasure Maps I gained in the Dungeon hoping to find some of the last ingredients I need. The problem is, it's not very specific. The map shows a section of what is recognizably Europe, centered on France, and in the bottom right is a small circle.</p><p>Traveling here was annoying, I had to use chain [Void Sight] to teleport as far as I could, but even then, [Void Sight]'s range wasn't far enough for me to make it in one go. It took me three hops to make it this far.</p><p>But I made it without too much hassle. And as far as I can tell, I'm in the right area. Roughly at least. I'm within the circle on the map. Which means that I have to turn to the other thing this map has. The riddle scrawled on the back.</p><p><em>Atop the lone and craggy peak<br/></em> <em>Behind the stone severely scored<br/></em> <em>Lies the path to what you seek<br/></em> <em>The long-dead dragon's forgotten hoard.</em></p><p><em>Tread lightly, for without the dragon's might<br/></em> <em>Death and danger are around every bend<br/></em> <em>But if the shrines are all alight<br/></em> <em>You will be treated as a friend.</em></p><p><em>At the bottom, riches beyond measure<br/></em> <em>A hoard that rivals Hell and Heaven<br/></em> <em>You will find, amongst this treasure<br/></em> <em>A holy sword, one of seven.</em></p><p>As far as riddles go, it's pretty transparent. Which is fine with me, I'm here to loot, not get my daily brain exercise. I turn in a slow circle, looking for a 'lone and craggy peak'. There are a lot of mountain peaks around me, and my gut reaction is to go for the tallest peak. But one catches my eye. Most of the peaks are sort of clustered together, but there's one not too far from me that stands alone.</p><p>I [Void Travel] over to it and then double-check with my GPS to make sure I'm still in the area circled on the map. It looks like I am, so I then start making short hops around the top of the mountain, [Void Detect] extended at its maximum range and looking for "the stone severely scored", which I take to mean it has a bunch of gashes in it. Or it has some sort of tally marks maybe. Either way, I'm looking for a marked rock with a tunnel behind it.</p><p>I end up finding the tunnel first, and a short hop brings me to the entrance of it. The rock in question is covered in claw marks made by something big. Just guessing based off of the riddle, probably a dragon. I'm tempted to just teleport straight in, I can feel the tunnel that winds its way downwards, but the mention of "death and danger" has me deciding to play it safe.</p><p>I'm <em>almost</em> positive that with all my skills, whatever traps are in there are things I can easily avoid. But this is a dragon's hoard we're talking about, and dragons are pretty powerful in this universe. They're pretty powerful in most universes, to be honest. The riddle describes a safe method of entering though, so I'll follow it for now.</p><p>Rather than try to shove the rock aside, I simply use [Void Cloak] and quickly step through it. I find myself in pitch blackness. Right, of course. I need to find a permanent form of being able to see in the dark soon. Oh well, [Void Detect] does a good enough job.</p><p>I look around with [Void Detect]. The tunnel is massive, roughly circular with a twenty-foot radius. I suppose it would need to be at least this big for a dragon to travel through it. Hanging from the ceiling above me is a stone chandelier, each corner carved into the shape of a dragon's head. [Void Detect] notes a few of them at regular intervals down the length of the cave. Are these the shrines?</p><p>I use [Shadow Step] to sink into the floor and come out of the 'shadows' on the ceiling, where I use [Spider Climb] to cling to it. I pull out my Wand of Flame and shoot a gout of fire at the chandelier.</p><p>Sure enough, it absorbs the fire and lights up, lighting the cave below it, and the magical feeling in the walls recedes a bit. I'm guessing the traps disarmed then? I drop down back to the floor and start walking down the tunnel. Nothing jumps out at me and I don't trigger any traps. It seems like that worked.</p><p>I make my way down the spiraling tunnel, lighting up the chandeliers as I go. I'm not sure how far down I go. Far enough that [Void Detect] no longer feels the air around the mountain, just the stone and tunnels within it, and then down some more. But eventually, I arrive at a chamber a bit larger than the tunnel.</p><p>My eyes widen as I get a look. The place glitters with gold, the massive piles of gold coins are illuminated by the light coming from the tunnel. Spots of color break up the gold, coming from gems the size of golf balls.</p><p>But my eyes are immediately drawn to the center of the room, where an ornate sword is on display on top of a pile of gold. It's clearly meant to be the centerpiece of the hoard, and I waste no time in using [Observe] on it.</p><p>
  <strong>Excalibur Ruler<br/>One of seven pieces of the True Excalibur. Can be used to subjugate and rule things and beings. The effect grows stronger with time.</strong>
</p><p>I had guessed as much from the riddle, but I'm still surprised to find an actual Excalibur fragment here. If I remember correctly, this was the only one missing. This dragon must have gotten its hands on it somehow and stashed it away here without anyone knowing. Or maybe not no one. The Khaos Brigade finds this sword soon and uses it for their own purposes. I must have gotten here right in time to claim it before they do.</p><p>I reach out and pick it up. When I do a message pops up from the Game.</p><p>
  <strong>Excalibur Ruler has rejected you as a wielder<br/>Reason: Do not meet skill, bloodline, or Faith requirements. One of those must be met.</strong>
</p><p>The sword seems to lose some of its luster in my hands. So I can't use it, huh? I'm surprised it can even reject a Gamer. I shrug. Oh well, even if it's powerful, it's not really a weapon I'm interested in personally using. Too large and unwieldy, I'll stick with my daggers and the critical hit multipliers they offer.</p><p>Still, it's amazingly valuable. I'll definitely figure out a use for it. I stash it in my inventory and another Game window appears in my vision.</p><p>
  <strong>New Quest!<br/>The Fragments Reforged<br/>Objective: Collect all seven Excalibur's and combine them back together with [Alchemy]<br/>Reward: True Excalibur, 100k Hunie, 1 million Class XP</strong>
</p><p>Now <em>there's </em>a use for it. True Excalibur would be a lot nicer to have. Would it earn the attention of the Church? Oh absolutely. But that's fine, I'm past the point of worrying about keeping my head down. Besides, even if Kokabiel stole some, they should still have Destruction, Mimic, and Blessing. I'll have to get them from them somehow. I could most likely steal them easily enough, but would it be worth pissing them off?</p><p>Something to worry about in the future. A chance to get my hands on them more legitimately might occur, though I doubt it. Instead, I turn my attention to the rest of the haul. Now that I look closer, there are a handful of items that aren't gold coins or gemstones.</p><p>I start scooping everything into my inventory, cleaning the hoard out. By the end, I've obtained a nice haul of things considering how little work I put into it.</p><p>
  <strong>32,184 Gold Coins<br/>23 Ambers<br/>21 Diamonds<br/>21 Rubies<br/>24 Emeralds<br/>24 Sapphires<br/>22 Topazes<br/>21 Amethysts</strong>
</p><p>Just in terms of pure wealth, this is enough to make me quite rich. Not that I need it, and these are better used for crafting. Or just for hoarding.</p><p>
  <strong>6 Pots of Marvelous Pigments</strong>
</p><p>[Observe] tells me that Marvelous Pigment is an ink that lets me draw things that become real. It can't be anything valuable, but I can use it to make traps or doors or just random mundane things that I might need. Maybe I should look into getting a painting skill?</p><p>
  <strong>Crown of Diplomacy<br/>Informs the wearer when they have been lied to.</strong>
</p><p>I immediately disenchant that. [Pericognition] and [Empathy] can usually pick up when I'm being lied to, but a magic item would work against even skilled liars. Assuming they don't have their own magical protection against that sort of thing.</p><p>
  <strong>Gogmagog core shard<br/>A broken piece of the core of a Gogmagog. It is dead and beyond repair and it is marked by the Dimensional Gap</strong>
</p><p>I'm not sure what a Gogmagog is, but it must be quite big. The shard is about two feet long but only two inches wide at its widest point. It may have been smooth gemstone or glass at one point, but the surface is pockmarked and roughened like it's been sandblasted. But both the description and my own senses told me it wasn't sand that did this, but Void.</p><p>The interesting thing about it is that the feeling of Void is coming from inside of it. It looks like the Void started eating away at it, but then was absorbed, and then that protected it? Or something along those lines. Either way, it's clear that it started out as something different than before, but now it's attuned to the Void energies in the Dimensional Gap. I'll have to research what a Gogmagog is later.</p><p>
  <strong>Bolt of Arachne Silk<br/>50 yards of Arachne Silk. Arachne Silk offers moderate physical protection and high magical protection. It is also a great conductor for magic and can amplify magical effects placed on it.</strong>
</p><p>I've been missing a good source of magical cloth. So far, it's been just mundane cloth and hides, and magical hides. Now I can make some proper light armor, and put enchantments on it that will be boosted.</p><p>
  <strong>5 Gacha Tokens</strong>
</p><p>These surprised me at first, as I've never seen what gacha tokens actually look like. I found them on top of a pile of gold, pure white discs neatly stacked on top of each other about five inches wide and only a few millimeters thick. Did the Game put them here when it generated the Treasure Map? Or maybe when I came in? Could someone else have found them? Unfortunately, as soon as I touched them, they entered my inventory and I couldn't pull them back out. Oh well. I'll use these later.</p><p>
  <strong>Potion of Youth<br/>Restores the youth of the drinker</strong>
</p><p>Vague description is vague. Does it subtract a set number of years? Or rewind them to a certain point? Or what?</p><p>I guess it doesn't matter that much. No matter what it does, I'm sure whoever drinks it will be grateful. I'll hold on to that, surely I'll find someone willing to give me something good for it. Eventually.</p><p>
  <strong>Deck of Many Things<br/>A deck of 22 magical cards. Drawing one card from the deck produces a positive or negative effect, depending on the card drawn.</strong>
</p><p>I nearly had a heart attack when I used [Observe] on this. Not just because of what it is, but because I didn't use [Observe] immediately and had very nearly drawn a card. The cards are kept in an ornate wooden box with a hinged lid, and the cards themselves are made with black obsidian and detailed with gold. They're absolutely beautiful. And their potential is terrifying.</p><p>I stash them in my inventory. There's a very good chance that they'll never see the light of day. I don't remember the exact details of every possible effect, but I do remember that there are an equal number of good and bad cards, and I don't think any of the good effects are worth risking some of the worst ones in there.</p><p>I look around the now empty chamber. The only sign that anything was here before are a few slight claw marks on the smooth stone floor. Satisfied that I cleaned the place out, I [Void Travel] out and head home. I have more work to do, as always.</p><hr/><p>Rias let out a moan of pleasure as Axton's hands dug into the sore muscles of her back. She wasn't sure how he could make a massage feel this good, but she was sure that the feeling of his skilled and strong hands on her back was one of her favorite feelings, and the evenings of these training sessions were quickly becoming her favorite part of the day.</p><p>Axton's hands stopped, and she realized she had been quite loud in expressing her enjoyment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to let that slip out," she apologized.</p><p>She heard Axton chuckle. "No, it's no problem," he said, the amusement in his voice clear. "If anything, I take it as a compliment. It's just a little…" he paused, looking for the right word. "<em>Distracting</em>, I guess."</p><p>"Distracting?" she asked while turning her head to look at him. Axton didn't dress much differently than usual when he did these massages, only forgoing his armor and jacket. Still, jeans and a plain t-shirt seemed odd attire for someone giving a massage, but they looked right on him.</p><p>But even the rough material of his jeans wasn't enough to hide his obvious erection, the material straining against the pressure from inside of the pants.</p><p>Rias wasn't a prude, and it certainly wasn't the first time she had seen Axton pitching a tent. In fact, she had purposefully aroused him a few times herself. So instead of getting embarrassed or looking away, she just smiled at him teasingly. "Oh? I'm sorry, was that a little too stimulating for you?"</p><p>"Truth be told, this happened as soon as you dropped your towel," Axton admitted without shame. That was one thing she liked about him, how open he was about that sort of thing. Most people got embarrassed or defensive about nudity and sex. Even some of the most lecherous devils she knew didn't like talking about that sort of thing with others. But Axton would talk to you about those things like he was discussing the weather.</p><p>Though the direct compliment still made her heart skip. It wasn't like she was unused to compliments. Quite the opposite actually, as one of the two great Onee-samas of Kuoh, she was used to flattery and attention of all sorts.</p><p>But Axton admitting he had been aroused by seeing her naked still managed to get a reaction out of her, despite how obvious it should be.</p><p>"Well then," Rias started. "I'm glad I'm not the only one enjoying themselves."</p><p>Axton's hands worked on her lower back, sending tingles through her as his fingers worked on the sensitive flesh so close to her butt cheeks.</p><p>"How could I not enjoy myself?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm doing this out of the goodness of my own heart, but the eye candy is a nice side benefit. Even if my pants get uncomfortably tight."</p><p>"If you like, I don't mind you taking them off," Rias heard herself say before she could even think about it. "I mean- a little nudity between friends is fine, isn't it?" She tried to recover. "Besides, I'm already naked too."</p><p>"That's a great point," Axton said, and Rias wasn't sure if she regretted opening her mouth, or if she was thankful. Those thoughts went away when she glanced back at him just in time to see his clothes disappear without a trace, causing his erection to swing up and outwards, swaying from the force of being released. "Oh yeah, that's much better," he said.</p><p>Rias swallowed, her eyes tracking the slight swaying motions of his penis. "Like what you see?" She looked up to see Axton looking at her, amusement clear on his face. But she saw something else in his eyes. Desire.</p><p>"I appreciate the eye candy," she joked back at him with more confidence than she felt. Axton laughed, which helped Rias relax. "This isn't my first time seeing it, but it's still just as impressive."</p><p>"Would you like a closer look?" Axton asks, and Rias's eyes widened as Axton stepped closer to her, his dick right at her eye level. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came to mind. The image of Axton shifting just a couple inches and putting his penis into her open mouth flashed in her mind, causing her to close her mouth with a snap. But she didn't stop staring.</p><p>"I don't mind if you want to inspect it closer," Axton said in a husky voice. Head filled with fuzz, Rias nodded and sat up. Axton repositioned himself in front of her, his dick nearly touching her knees. She reached out with a tentative hand and softly grasped his hard shaft.</p><p>Axton's dick twitched in her hands, and the feeling of it sent a jolt of excitement through her. She ran her fingers over the hot skin of his erection. The skin itself was soft and smooth, but just under the surface, she felt hard muscle.</p><p>She spotted Axton biting his lip at her gentle caresses, trying not to let the pleasure show, something that excited her. She started being bolder and more deliberate in her actions. Wrapping her fingers around his shaft, she slowly moved them up and down, wringing pleasure out of him.</p><p>He let out a low groan. "That feels so good Rias, better than I imagined it would."</p><p>"Oh?" She asked him. "Do you often imagine what me touching you would feel like?"</p><p>"Just once," he admitted, voice a little rough. "That day at the pool, when Akeno touched me from behind." His voice was low, and the sound of it sent shivers down her spine. "It was you I was facing, you're the only one I saw, and in my mind, it was you touching me like that."</p><p>Rias's eyes widened and a wave of heat rushed over her, emanating from her core. That day at the pool had left her with mixed emotions. Jealousy had been among them, but one she hadn't managed to figure out. Was that why? Did she want to be the one that did that to him?</p><p>She's drawn from her thoughts and the heat of arousal that they send through her by another grunt from Axton. "Fuck Rias, I'm going to cum!"</p><p>Rias, unsure of what to do, simply kept moving her hand. Apparently, it didn't matter, because almost immediately after he said that, his dick twitched massively and started shooting spurts of semen. She flinched at the feeling of it landing on her. Most of it collected in her hand or up her arm, but much of it got on her legs, stomach, and even her chest.</p><p>Rias couldn't think properly. Her body felt like it was on fire and her head felt like it was filled with cotton. The smell of sweat and flesh and semen filled her nostrils. She looked down at her hand, Axton's seed pooling in her palm. A memory sparked, the image of it cutting through the fuzz in her head, and she slowly lifted her hand to her mouth before licking the liquid there.</p><p>"Chocolate again," she muttered.</p><p>"Again?" she heard, causing her to look up in surprise. She had forgotten Axton was there, lost as she was in her thoughts. He's looking down at her, a teasing smile on his lips, but more than that is the hunger in his eyes that's only stronger than it was before. "Did you give it a taste before then? That day at the pool?"</p><p>Rias blushed, her face heating up, but she nodded. She had. After she entered the bathroom, right before she stepped into the shower, she stopped, her curiosity nagging her. She had tried it, just a little bit. It was normal for girls to taste it right? Blowjobs were common in porn.</p><p>She was surprised when it tasted like chocolate. She wasn't sure what it was supposed to taste like, but she was pretty sure chocolate wasn't it. So she had tried some more, and it still tasted like chocolate. She might have tried a few more fingertips after that before realizing what she was doing and embarrassing herself.</p><p>"I guess your curiosity got the best of you?" Axton asked. Rias nodded again, not trusting her voice right now. "That's really hot you know." She feels something hot press against her stomach, and her eyes widen as she realizes the position the two of them have ended up in.</p><p>Somehow, her legs are spread, and Axton is standing between them, his still very erect dick pressing against her stomach. She gulped again, her throat dry. She was suddenly very aware of the bare inches that separated his dick from her lower entrance.</p><p>She looked up at Axton, her emotions swirling. The hunger in his eyes is stronger than ever, and seeing that caused another rush of heat from her core. Axton used his hand to reposition his dick, tracing the head of it down her stomach, to her crotch, and finally leaving it pressing against her wet entrance.</p><p>"How about I return the favor?" Axton asked, his voice soft and husky. "You made me feel good, and now I can make us both feel good."</p><p>A small shock of pleasure sparked through her, and she slowly nodded. Axton leaned down, his lips headed for hers, even as the pressure against her pussy increased as he pressed-</p><p>Rias jolted awake at the sound of her alarm going off, the familiar melody bringing her to wakefulness immediately. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind struggled to fit the pieces together. It took her several moments to figure it out. A dream. She had been having a dream.</p><p>It wasn't the first time she'd had a dream about Axton. She blamed his massages, as she'd been having them ever since she'd started getting massages from him right before going to bed. But they'd never been as intense as that.</p><p>Was it because of last night? How he had reassured her? His hands had felt so strong on her shoulders, and so reliable.</p><p>She felt a blush forming on her face and she shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts. No, it didn't matter. Training is all she should be focused on right now. She started to move to get up when she noticed another problem.</p><p>Rias slept naked. She always had. The soft sheets against her skin had always felt more comfortable than any pair of pajamas, and even underwear got in the way of that. But for the first time, she regretted that. She got up and drew the blanket back, revealing the small but palpable wet spot. Hesitantly, she reached between her legs and felt herself. Sure enough, she was dripping with arousal.</p><p>She couldn't stop the blush this time. Nothing like this had ever happened to her, but then again, never before had she had such an arousing dream.</p><p>The scent of breakfast reached her nose, reminding her of her situation. She shook her head clear again and started getting dressed, ignoring the wet spot on her bed. She'll clean it up later...sometime.</p><p>Dressed and ready for the day, she left her room. She concentrated on clearing her thoughts and forgetting the dream, but she didn't think she'd be able to look at Axton at all today without remembering. She sighed. It was going to be a long day.</p><hr/><p>I pause on my way from sparring with Akeno. I have a bunch of Gacha tokens burning a hole in my pocket. Now should be a good time to use them, right? I ignore the voice in my head telling me to stop procrastinating the confrontation with Koneko and pull up my inventory.</p><p>Over the past couple of days, I've collected ten Gacha tokens, so I go ahead and use them all.</p><p>
  <strong>Captain America's Shield<br/>A shield made of vibranium and decorated in a patriotic manner</strong>
</p><p>Not a bad first pull. I'll have to ask Kiba later if he's interested in incorporating a shield into his fighting style, though I don't think he will. Still, worst-case scenario, it's free vibranium. I'm sure I can find a use for that.</p><p>
  <strong>Eternal Chalk<br/>A stick of chalk that never degrades in size</strong>
</p><p>While chalk is pretty easy to come by, having an infinite source of it is useful, I guess. Especially since combining items with [Alchemy] requires chalk circles.</p><p>
  <strong>Azal's Staff<br/>Doubles power and cost of spells</strong>
</p><p>Useful. I wonder which member of Rias's Peerage would benefit the most from this? Most likely Akeno. Aika has more MP, but also already has a staff that boosts her spells without having to increase their cost. I'll give it to her to try out in the Dungeon tomorrow when we fight the boss.</p><p>
  <strong>Super Star<br/>Grants invincibility and vastly increased mana, health, and stamina regen for 7 seconds.</strong>
</p><p>I'm quite pleased by how many "Get out of Jail Free" cards I've been collecting through the Gacha. Seven seconds of invincibility is a powerful advantage if leveraged correctly, not to mention the regen increases.</p><p>
  <strong>Dominator<br/>An energy pistol with three modes: stun, kill, and disintegrate</strong>
</p><p>Ah yes, the coolest looking cyberpunk dystopia weapon. I wonder how well the kill setting works on anything above a baseline human? Considering the exact effect it has on humans, it should still probably be pretty decent, though there's almost certainly a ceiling it hits in terms of effectiveness. I'll test it out in the dungeon later.</p><p>
  <strong>[Asclepius] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Create chemical substances from nothing within a short range of your skin. Speed increases with skill level.</strong>
</p><p>Weird name, but it's definitely a good skill. While the ability to make potions would be better, making chemicals is pretty good too. I'll have to read up on some chemistry, see what I can make.</p><p>I am curious though, so I try to make some now. Water is a chemical substance and the safest one I can think of off the top of my head. Two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen one. I create some in the palm of my hand and...it's slow. It's so fucking slow. 30 seconds of using the skill results in just a few drops of it in my hand.</p><p>I shake off the droplets in annoyance and go back to using my Gacha tokens.</p><p>
  <strong>Grapple Hook<br/>Wrist mounted grapple hook. Can hook onto objects, people, and buildings.</strong>
</p><p>Moderately useful. Not to me, since [Far Reach] is a much more useful version of this. But I can give it to someone to use without having to teach them the skill. Maybe Atsuko? As a Devil, she can just fly, though she still isn't very good at it. And being able to pull people towards her could be pretty useful. We'll experiment with it during her training later.</p><p>"<strong>Nut" Button<br/>A button that says "Nut" in a random voice when pressed</strong></p><p>...I've gotten some useless loot before, but this is almost definitely the least useful thing I've ever gotten. I take it out of my inventory. It's not very big, fitting comfortably in my hand. It feels like it's made of cheap plastic. The base is a plain grey and the button itself is red with "Nut" on it in white letters. I hesitate, but then I push the button.</p><p>"Nut," says the voice of an old woman with absolutely no inflection. I push it again. "Nut," it says in a deep manly baritone. I push it a few more times, and each time it says "Nut" in a different voice.</p><p>It's childish, but it's actually pretty amusing. It's not useful at all, but maybe I can use it to annoy someone or something. Whatever. Two more Gacha tokens.</p><p>
  <strong>Devil Fruit(Barrier-Barrier Fruit)<br/>A strange fruit that can grant the eater a special super-human power, at the cost of the eater's ability to swim.</strong>
</p><p>Another Devil fruit, and it's also a good one. Or at least, one that's been proven to be powerful and useful. My mind instantly starts trying to figure out who it would be best to give this to. It's not a good fit for me or my fighting style, not compared to other potential abilities I could get from a Devil fruit. Asia maybe? She's been getting used to her Holy barriers and has gotten a lot better with them.</p><p>Or maybe, rather than Asia who spends all of her time near me and has several other options, maybe I should give it to Momo? If I recall correctly, when Momo described to me how Sona's Peerage fought as a group, she said that she and Reya usually focus on controlling the battlefield. Momo uses barriers and alters the battlefield, while Reya sometimes assists with barriers but often uses long-range magic or magic with a large area of effect.</p><p>The barriers made by the Barrier-Barrier fruit are extremely powerful, and being able to replace her magically created ones with them would free up magical power for other things. Or she could possibly even mix the two? Magic wasn't really a thing in One Piece, so it's not clear if that's possible. But I feel like it should be.</p><p>Besides, as much as I want to protect Asia, I feel like I've been neglecting Momo lately. Giving her a powerful ability like this would help, especially since I'm going to have to give Sona and her Peerage the same treatment I've given Rias. This will work towards that.</p><p>Mind made up to give it to Momo later, I use my last Gacha token.</p><p>
  <strong>Acro Bike<br/>A folding bicycle capable of jumps and wheelies.</strong>
</p><p>It's...okay? It's more useful than the "Nut" Button I guess, though only barely so. I don't really have any use for a bike though, and neither does anyone I know. Whatever. Free stuff is free stuff. Not all my pulls can be Devil Fruits.</p><p>I sigh and close my Inventory. I can't put it off any longer. I [Void Travel] to where Koneko is training. She's back to throwing rocks around, but these ones are even bigger, and she has more in the air. She spots me as I arrive, catches the rocks, and sets them back on the ground before turning to me.</p><p>She's not the only one to have spotted me. I can feel Kuroka's eyes on the back of my neck. I guess she took up the offer of staying to watch. Sorry Kuroka, but you won't be able to see much today.</p><p>I pull out the Game Board. "You ready?" I ask her. And she nods, placing a hand on the box. Not strictly necessary, but it's a good indicator of her readiness. I pull us both into the Gameboard, shunting us into the pocket dimension there. Where she won't be able to run away and she can rampage as much as she likes. It also provides some privacy, which could help Koneko lower her guard a little.</p><p>Once we enter, Koneko looks at me expectantly, silently asking what the plan is for today. I keep my face blank as I look at her.</p><p>"You know, I'm not sure what else I can teach you," I admit. "We could spend an hour beating each other again, training the Iron Body technique, but honestly you're already better at it than you need to be for anyone you'd face fighting Riser's Peerage. And in terms of pure skill, you're better than me in hand-to-hand combat. Continuing to train that seems inefficient right now."</p><p>Koneko frowns at me, not understanding, but she doesn't say anything, so I continue. "But there is one thing I can think of that you could use some training in. Something that would help a lot." I look her in the eyes. "Senjutsu."</p><p>She flinches and looks down. I grimace, but I don't stop. "I told Rias about what happened the other day, and she explained things. I'm sorry that happened to you, I can't imagine what that must have been like. But I think you're making a mistake, rejecting Senjutsu and your heritage."</p><p>I feel anger from her now. It's small, but it's there. No one likes being told they're wrong, especially when it comes to a subject like this. So I keep talking, monologuing at her, trying to get out all of my thoughts before she...I'm not sure. Snaps? Runs? I don't know. Before her emotions reach the point where she does something besides listen.</p><p>"Something about the story Rias told me seemed off," I explain. "So I've spent the past couple nights investigating. I'm in the middle of a pretty big trade deal with Serafall right now, and I was able to get my hands on the info about it pretty quickly." I shake my head. "Not that it helped, because there basically isn't any. The official story is that Kuroka became drunk on her own power and killed her King to feel strong. But there is exactly zero evidence for that claim."</p><p>Shock and confusion rise to match Koneko's anger. She didn't expect me to claim that. She's no longer looking at the ground, but instead looking at me with an intense gaze. "Kuroka was strong, that's for sure. Becoming a Bishop only increased her natural talents, and she grew quickly. But there is no evidence or logic that is in the official report that could lead to the conclusion of <em>why</em> she did it. I asked Serafall, but she said she wasn't involved with that incident and didn't know anything beyond the official report."</p><p>It's a bit of a risk saying I talked to Serafall about this when I never actually did, but it's a calculated one. There's almost no chance of Koneko acting on that information, or even speaking of it.</p><p>"What are you saying?" Koneko asks, speaking for the first time. Her voice is tight, and confusion is definitely the most overwhelming emotion she's feeling right now.</p><p>"I'm saying I don't think that's why she killed her King," I say bluntly. "It doesn't make sense. Kill the King, but no one else? Immediately flee, avoiding all of her pursuers instead of confronting them?" I shake my head. "Those aren't the actions of someone drunk on their own strength."</p><p>"Then <em>why</em>?" Koneko asks. Her eyes are watery, tears threatening to spill. "Why would she do that?"</p><p>I grimace again. "That, I don't know," I admit. Koneko's frustration spikes, but I keep speaking before she says anything. "But I can maybe come up with a theory. Tell me, what do you remember of the Devil she served?"</p><p>Koneko blinks, and her brow furrows. Her emotions calm slightly as she thinks, but they're still a mess. She eventually shakes her head. "Not much. She didn't let me see him. I only talked to him once, at the start."</p><p>"That's fairly indicative of itself," I point out. "Was Kuroka a protective older sister? If so, the fact that she actively didn't want the two of you to interact says a lot about the kind of person he probably was." Koneko's eyes widen as she realizes what I'm saying. "While there's no evidence to prove it, it's possible that her killing him was in response to something he did, something he deserved. Not all Devils are as nice as Rias or Sona. If that's the case, then Kuroka's actions afterward make more sense. She fled because it didn't matter why she did it, a Bishop killing her King is a serious crime no matter what in the eyes of Devil society. And it makes more sense why Sirzechs would protect you."</p><p>Koneko tilts her head in confusion at that last statement. "I know a lot of Devils wanted to punish you in fear that you would do what Kuroka did," I explain. "But obviously Sirzechs didn't. If he did, there's no way he would have had you join his precious little sister's Peerage. He wasn't worried at all about you repeating the actions of your sister, and honestly, that is probably the biggest sign that not all is what it seems."</p><p>I can see it on her face and feel it in her emotions when the realization clicks. She walks over to one of the tables and sits down, the energy gone out of her. "She didn't go berserk because of her power?" she asks in a soft voice as if she can scarcely believe it.</p><p>I sit down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "I don't think so. And I don't think Sirzechs thought so either. I don't know why she did it, or why the official story is what it is. But I think there's definitely more to the story than we know."</p><p>Koneko nods in agreement, and I have to suppress a smile. Good, we're past that initial hump. The thought of "Kuroka bad, I don't want to be like Kuroka" should be weakened in her mind now.</p><p>"I know you don't want to use Senjutsu, that it brings up those thoughts of turning out like her, but no matter what her reasons were, I think that line of thought is wrong." She looks at me. There's no longer any anger in her emotions. Just doubt and confusion, with a little tiny spark of hope. She looks emotionally tired though, so I decide to not draw this part out.</p><p>"It's simple really," I continue. "You and Kuroka are different people. We can't know why she did what she did, but it doesn't matter. Because if you don't want to do anything like that then you won't. Senjutsu isn't dangerous, it's just another tool for you to use as you see fit. Besides, you have two advantages she didn't." She continues to look at me, but the question is clear on her face to my eyes.</p><p>"For one, you have this place," I say, indicating the area around us. "In this pocket space, you could rampage and burn it all to the ground, and it wouldn't matter. It's all easily replaceable, and it's just the two of us here. It's a safe place to train." She doesn't look as reassured as I would've liked, but it did seem to help a little. "And more importantly, you have me."</p><p>She blinks in surprise and confusion, so I continue. "Not just me either. You have Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Atsuko, Aika, and even Asia. All of us care about you, and we will all do whatever we can to keep you safe and happy. We're here to support you, and together, we can make sure nothing bad happens." I pat her on the head. "So don't be afraid. Show off those cute ears of yours, and use the options available to you, your Senjutsu. If you do that, Riser won't be a challenge to you at all."</p><p>Koneko doesn't say anything for a long moment, and I have to rely on [Empathy] to tell what she's feeling. Things aren't as much of a mess as they were before. There's still some confusion and fear, but there's no anger, and the strongest emotions are positive ones. Determination and hope especially. The way she's pushing slightly against my hand as if asking to be patted more is also a good sign.</p><p>Eventually, she nods, and her cat ears appear on top of her head. "Okay," she says, voice filled with determination.</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Koneko Toujo</strong>
</p><p>Koneko, huh? That's probably a good sign. I smile down at her. "Great!" I exclaim. "Now, I don't know much about Senjutsu, but I don't doubt you have some rust to shake off. Let's spar, no holding back. Let's see what you can really do."</p><p>Koneko nods and stands up. She walks a bit away and takes a fighting stance, blue fire appearing around her hands. We're both smiling as I rush towards her, and our sparring begins.</p><hr/><p>- Bonus Scene -</p><p>Gasper was alone in his room like he always was. It brought comfort to him to be inside of these four walls, heavily warded as they were. The only person he ever saw was Rias, and that was only for a short time whenever she came in to check on him and bring him more things. That was fine with him. In fact, he appreciated it. Being around others and being out in the open was too scary.</p><p>He had everything he needed here, in this room. Food, entertainment, company. The internet was a wonderful thing. With it, he could even keep in contact with his peerage members without putting them at risk. Though they've all been too busy lately, preparing for some big event. He wasn't sure exactly what event, they hadn't mentioned, but whatever it was had kept them busy all day for days now.</p><p>His computer, which was almost always on, dinged, signifying that he had received a message. He pulled up the chat client to check it.</p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em>alright, i've finished up another one. take a look at it for me?</em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: neighbor_dream_14_WIP.png</p><p>It was from a friend of his that he had met online a few months ago. He had complimented one of her art pieces once, and she had responded, and things ended up progressing from there until they talked online almost every day.</p><p>But recently her art had gotten a lot more...explicit. Gasper had mixed feelings about that. It's not that he didn't like it, because he did. Her art had definitely improved a lot when she started drawing that sort of thing. But they all featured the same two characters, and from the file names and the things she mentioned, he was pretty sure one of them was meant to represent her. And it was weird critiquing art featuring one of his closest friends in those sorts of situations.</p><p>He opened the file she had sent to find a short comic. That was another thing about the art she'd been doing lately, they were usually comics about a scenario, rather than just single images. Though the majority of the page would be taken up by one or two 'action' shots, with the setup sort of skimmed over.</p><p>In this one, the usual guy character appears behind the female character while she is drawing on a tablet. He offers to pose for her, and within a couple short panels, she's sucking his dick. Though the focus is the last panel of the girl on her side, having sex with the guy. She looked like she was enjoying it a lot.</p><p>Gasper blushed and tried to ignore the feelings the image stirred up in him. He reminded himself that this was art, and his friend was just trying to get better, and the weird feelings caused by the male character-</p><p>He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away before they strayed into dangerous territory, and instead typed out his response.</p><p><span class="u"> gaspi (＠＾◡＾) </span> : <em> First off, you didn’t do any first-person perspective angles this time, so there’s an improvement </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> i still think it’d come out better if i did that though… </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Stand-alone images occasionally from that angle are fine, but they limit your audience. A lot of your followers are guys, they don’t want to see pictures from that angle. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> i know i know. ugh </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> any other thoughts? </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> How did the guy get in her room? </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span> : <em> Also, you really need to come up with a name for the characters. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> oh right. i actually came up with one for the guy. akisu, or akisu-tan. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> I’m not sure the -tan honorific really fits the character… </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> it’s not supposed to! it’s that thing...uhh. gap moe! it’s cute because it doesn’t fit. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Ah, I see. Yeah, I get that. How about the girl? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> not sure yet, still thinking </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span><span class="u">:</span> <em> coming up with a name for her is a lot harder </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> but to answer your question, he teleported into her room </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Oh. He can do that? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> he’s like a modern-day ninja, of course he can do something like that </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> He’s a ninja? Since when? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> since always? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> oh. looking back on what i’ve drawn of him, i guess it isn’t obvious.  </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> that’s how he did some of the weird sex stuff, like changing the flavor of his cum. ecchijutsu. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> I see… </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> You should probably make that more clear at some point. Maybe show it off more obviously? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> i guess i could make like a character bio of him or something...yeah,  i’ll do that soon. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> His name makes more sense if he’s a ninja though </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> huh? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> oh! yep, that was definitely what i was going for. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> … </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> anyways! </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> the art quality itself, what do you think? </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> It’s even better than your last one. You managed to really capture the sense of motion while still keeping your lines clean. It’s really amazing how much you’ve improved these past couple of weeks. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span> : <em> i guess i just found my calling lol </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> I do have one question though. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> yeah? what is it? </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Just judging off of the file names, is Akisu-tan based on a real person that you live near? Or used to live near, since you mentioned you just moved a few days ago. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> … </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> i completely forgot you could see the file names </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> uuuuugh. look, you can’t tell anyone, okay? i know it’s fucked up to be drawing porn of my old neighbor </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> but if you think about it, it’s all his fault! he kept bringing girls home and sleeping with them. loudly. the walls were thin, i heard everything </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> No no no! I wouldn’t judge you for that! </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> I mean, you’re just using him as inspiration right? It’s not like you lived next to an actual ninja. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> right! Yeah, that’s exactly right. That stuff is just all fantasy. </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> It makes sense that you’d have dreams like that too if he had girls over while you were sleeping. I think turning those dreams into art is perfectly normal! </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> please stop paying attention to the file names i didn’t want you to know i’ve been dreaming about it too aaaaahhhhh </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Oh...I’m sorry </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> no, it’s not your fault. i’m just an idiot who can’t keep a secret to save her life. </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> i’m gonna go scrub every mention of ‘neighbor’ and ‘dream’ from every file i’ve made and then i’ll post this one </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> then later i’ll get started on a bio for him </em></p><p><span class="u">gaspi (＠＾◡＾)</span>: <em> Okay! I’ll talk to you later then? </em></p><p><span class="u">hibi-sama</span>: <em> yeah, talk to you later </em></p><p>Her status icon changed from 'Online' to 'Away', and Gasper let out a sigh. So she <em>had</em> been drawing porn of a real person and her. And the person Akisu was based on slept around a bunch.</p><p>Gasper ignored the confusing tangle of emotions that arose from that line of thought. Instead, he got up from his computer and moved to the couch, where he picked up a controller and booted up his game console. Some games should take his mind off of things.</p><p>As the game booted up, he wondered how the rest of the Peerage was, and what they were doing right now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I’m on Patreon! I’d very much appreciate it.<br/>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: https://www.tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I’m glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p><p>AN: I wanted to finish the training this chapter, but as I wrote, each scene ended up being longer than I expected, and it just made sense to split it into two and get this chapter out sooner rather than waiting another week or two to finish everything. The next chapter shouldn’t take too long and should be roughly the same length. And it will finish the training stuff, for sure.</p><p>Tried a little something with Kuroka’s personality/backstory. Tbh I’m not that familiar with her canon personality, and I’m not 100% sure what I describe lines up with canon, but you know what? I like this interpretation and I’m gonna stick with it even if there’s something in canon that contradicts it.</p><p>Also, before anyone mentions it, yes, Kuroka was weirdly spooked by Axton. Way more than she should have been. I tried to hint at it in the text, because even Axton noticed it, but not why. I do want to reassure you that there is a reason for it though. I didn’t get to show it this chapter, but I’ll see about getting a small Kuroka PoV that’ll explain things next chapter.</p><p>Deck of Many Things may or may not get used, but I will say it’s been tweaked slightly, just to match the format of Axton’s game a bit better, since some of the effects don’t translate very well outside of a game of DnD.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. DxD: Getting Into Shape 05</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Koneko sat in quiet contemplation. Her eyes were closed and her back was against a tree as she used senses she had ignored for years. She felt the ears on top of her head twitch as she felt the life force of a small animal dashing through the tree branches above her.</p><p>Her mind had been clouded by fear for so long. She had forgotten what it was like to just <em>feel</em> the world around her, the life force flowing through every living thing.</p><p>Axton had said she was likely rusty, and that was true in terms of actually manipulating life force. Even her converting her life force to fire was almost entirely instinctual, and doing more than throwing it proved to be a little too difficult for her at first, but she had improved a lot over the course of their training session. And with each moment of using it, of seeing Axton shrug off her attacks and each time he encouraged her to be more creative, she could feel a weight that had been hanging on her shoulders for as long as she could remember lessening.</p><p>But while her manipulation skills had been rusty, her detection skills hadn't been. If anything, she felt like she could feel things better than before. She was truly grateful to Axton for helping her get over her fear.</p><p>Did she tell him that? She frowned as the thought occurred to her, pulling her out of her meditation. She tried to think back, but she couldn't remember thanking him. She opened her eyes and stood up. That wouldn't do. She would simply find him quickly, thank him, and then go back to meditating.</p><p>She once again reached out with her senses to look for Atsuko as she headed in the direction of the general area where the other girl trained. She hoped that Axton hadn't brought her into his arena place, or else she wouldn't be able to sense her and she'd have to wait to thank him.</p><p>Unfortunately, she couldn't search for Axton himself. Just like she couldn't sense his magic as a Devil, she couldn't sense his life force using Senjutsu. It was something that limited her options a lot when sparring with him as she couldn't use any techniques that affected his life force directly. Not that she knew any of those.</p><p>It also made him harder to track. But not impossible, she found out. While she couldn't sense his life force, she could feel <em>something</em> from him. It was strange, unlike anything she'd sensed before, and even looking for it it was nearly impossible to find unless he was nearby or using one of his more strange abilities. But it was there.</p><p>Still, that wouldn't help her find him from a range, so it was more efficient to find Atsuko since she knew Axton went to her next.</p><p>Thankfully, Koneko found her pretty quickly. She wasn't where Koneko expected to be, that is a clearing or a path either sparring, training, or running. Instead, she was in a corner made by two rock walls and surrounded by trees. Strange. Maybe Axton had her training a technique to penetrate defenses? Or had her climbing? As she got closer she could tell from the Atsuko's life force felt that she was exerting herself.</p><p>As Koneko approached where she sensed Atsuko, but before they came into sight, she heard a moan, causing her to freeze. That was… She wasn't sure what that was. It certainly wasn't a noise of pain. Was Axton giving her a massage? She wasn't sure, but the sound of another moan echoed through the trees, and she felt her own body react, growing warmer.</p><p>She reduced her presence and crept through the trees silently. She didn't know why, all she knew is that she wanted to see what was happening without them realizing she was there. The sounds of Atsuko moaning continued, as she got close enough to see, she began to hear the sound of flesh slapping against flesh.</p><p>Her eyes widened and she reflexively hid as she spotted them. Axton and Atsuko were both here, together, but it wasn't training they were doing. Koneko wasn't the most knowledgeable about those sorts of things, but she knew more than enough to recognize two people having sex.</p><p>The warm feeling inside of her that had been slowly growing as she approached spiked up as she connected Atsuko's moans to the actions she had just seen and Koneko finally was able to identify it. Arousal, she was getting aroused.</p><p>It wasn't like she had <em>never</em> been aroused. There had been times, late at night or in the shower, where something would spark and she'd...explore that feeling a little. But she never really indulged in it, and never had it been so strong as it was now.</p><p>The sounds of Atsuko's moans grew louder, and Koneko's curiosity pulled at her. Cautiously, still trying to remain hidden, she peeked around the tree she was hiding behind to look at the two of them again.</p><p>Axton had his back against a wall, and he was mostly obscured from her sight at this angle. She could tell he was naked though. But her eyes were more drawn towards Atsuko, who was upright in front of him, a look of ecstasy on her face. Atsuko was also naked, and Koneko spotted her clothes strewn about nearby. Atsuko's back was arched and her chest bounced as Axton thrust into her from behind.</p><p>Koneko's angle wasn't the clearest so she couldn't see the spot where they were connected, but there was no room for misunderstanding. Atsuko reached back, wrapped her arms at an awkward angle around Axton's neck, and they kissed. Koneko's face grew flushed at the sight. Atsuko's body and their lovemaking were on clear display for her to see. But she couldn't tear her eyes away. She fidgeted as she watched, her legs rubbing together.</p><p>Axton had one hand on Atsuko's waist, guiding her movements, and his other hand groped her boob, his fingers playing with her nipple. Did that...feel good? Koneko had never tried that before. Her hand crept up to her small chest as she watched Atsuko's body writhe in pleasure at Axton's hands. She rubbed herself over her clothes, and a small surge of pleasure ran through her.</p><p>Enraptured at the sight and emboldened by the good feelings, she reached under her shirt to touch herself directly. Her fingers grazed over the small hill of her boob, sending tingles through her. Those tingles turned into a powerful jolt of pleasure when she reached her nipple, which was erect and hardened. She had to bite her lip to prevent her voice from escaping, caught off guard as she was by the pleasure. She hadn't expected it to feel that good, despite Atsuko's obvious enjoyment.</p><p>That feeling of heat was present in her entire body, and she felt like she was full of steam as she watched the two continue to make love. Her finger continued to tweak at her nipple, and it was difficult for her to contain her moans. This felt like when Axton gave her a massage, but far sharper and hotter.</p><p>The sound of flesh on flesh increased in tempo, and Koneko watched as Axton thrust hard one final time. Atsuko's lips detached from Axton's as she let out her loudest moan yet. Koneko's fingers reflexively tightened around her nipple, and a small noise escaped her lips at the resulting spike of pleasure.</p><p>She knew that they had both just finished. She wasn't familiar with what that felt like, but she knew roughly how that worked. Which is why she was surprised when, instead of stopping, the two of them just repositioned themselves and kept going. Atsuko was on all fours now, her hair dangling towards the ground, covering her face but doing nothing to muffle her moans. And Axton was on his knees behind her, his hands on her hips as he thrust into her from behind.</p><p>She saw Axton more clearly now, and her eyes roamed over his body. She knew it from their sparring, but this was the first time she could see how muscled and lean his body was. There was that one time at the water park, but it was different this time. Back then, he was just shirtless, and she only absently noted his level of fitness. But now? Her eyes poured over every inch of his exposed chest, the way it glistened with a slight sheen of sweat. She watched his face, smiling, the pleasure he felt clear in his expressions.</p><p>Another thunderbolt of pleasure ran through her, but this time it came from lower down. Koneko looked down and realized that her hand had made its way to her crotch while she was watching them, and rubbing herself over her clothes down there had felt even better than playing with her nipple.</p><p>Hesitant, but too curious and aroused to stop, she rubbed herself again, her attention going back to the couple she was spying on. The heat that filled her before couldn't be compared to how this felt. It felt like there was a small sun resting at the bottom of her stomach, and every time she pressed against herself it flared up, radiating pleasure through her.</p><p>She watched and listened to Axton and Atsuko fuck, and the next time they finished, she did too. Her first orgasm ever wracked through her body, waves of heat pouring over her, and she had to bite down on her finger to remain silent, almost breaking the skin.</p><p>She took a moment to catch her breath, panting heavily as she watched the other two. They didn't keep going again, and they separated. Koneko's breath hitched slightly as she saw Axton's penis. Even though she was just watching them have sex, she hadn't seen anything more than a lot of Axton's bare skin. Atsuko she'd seen naked in the bath every night. So seeing Axton fully nude with no bits hidden by the other girl was a shock. He was so big…</p><p>Koneko shook her head and hid behind the tree again, no longer watching them. She was starting to calm down now, and the realization of what she did was starting to wash over her. Keeping her presence concealed, she slowly snuck away. She could thank Axton later. Right now, she needed to figure out how she felt about what just happened.</p><p>She grimaces at the feeling of wetness between her legs. Or maybe first she needs a change of clothes.</p><hr/><p>I watch with [Void Detect] as Koneko slinks away, a grin on my face. When Atsuko and I had started having sex out in the open, something that was turning her on more than usual, I had done something I usually don't even think of doing and used [Void Detect]. I didn't mind being caught. In fact, I was hoping for it. But I wanted to know who was coming from where, and when. Depending on who it was, I could either make them horny or use them to make things more exciting for Atsuko. Or both.</p><p>I hadn't expected anyone to come across us though. Everyone is busy training right now, and Wilhelm was maybe the only one likely to move between the groups. So when Koneko entered my range heading straight for us, I was pretty surprised. Pleasantly so. I immediately used [Sound Domain] to make sure she could hear Atsuko, barely having to do any work at all considering how vocal Atsuko was being and Koneko's hearing.</p><p>I was extremely pleased when her first reaction was to spy on us, and then it was a matter of nudging her with [Erotic Pierrot], something I barely had to do, as she went and got aroused by watching us almost entirely by herself. I helped at a few moments, but most of her arousal came entirely from herself. Again, I was extremely pleased by her reaction.</p><p>She wasn't the only one that spied on us either, but I'd deal with the other one later.</p><p>Atsuko finishes getting dressed and turns to me, one eyebrow raised. "Are you going to get dressed, or are you just going to stand there and look pretty?"</p><p>I roll my eyes and throw some clothes on with a thought. "Come on, now that we're done with some 'cardio', let's get some actual training done. We need to get you used to fighting at six boosts and I have a new toy for you to start playing with. A grappling hook."</p><p>Her eyes light up. "Really? That's badass!" she cheers, and I laugh. I pull out the Game Board from my inventory and we both hop in for some actual training.</p><hr/><p>After dinner, we have a short strategy session. It's short mostly because there simply isn't much more to go over. Our plans are set, everyone has memorized the information about Riser's peerage as best they can, and there simply isn't much else to do. The end of our training is quickly approaching, tomorrow will be the last real day of it.</p><p>The strategy meeting is made a bit more interesting by Koneko's reactions though. I wasn't sure how she would react to being near me after what she saw, but interestingly, it seems like she wants to be even closer to me. She sits closer to me than normal during dinner, though the seats adjacent to me are taken up by Aika, Atsuko, and Asia. Asia in particular is fairly clingy, always sitting directly at my side. My other side is then taken by either Atsuko and Aika, but they're both pretty relaxed about it. They tend to take turns, but it's also partially a first come first serve deal.</p><p>During the strategy meeting, I suppose being near-ish to me isn't enough for her. So she decides to sit in my lap instead. That certainly catches the attention of everyone in the room, though their looks don't phase Koneko in the slightest. I lock eyes with Rias and attempt to silently convey to her that yes I do know why the sudden change occurred but her doing this surprises me almost as much as it does them.</p><p>She seems to understand it well enough because she shoots me a look that tells me that we'll talk about it later and then goes back to what she was reviewing, ignoring it. Though things get interrupted again when Koneko decides to show off her cat features, revealing that to the ones not already in the know, and there are a few minutes where Atsuko, Asia, and Aika shower her with attention.</p><p>Actions that I really appreciate. Koneko revealing that to everyone is a big deal, and the fact that everyone responds so positively sends a powerful surge of relief through her. Rias also relaxes some when she sees that, and I have no doubt our talk later will be a positive one.</p><p>More importantly than all that, it's just nice having Koneko in my lap. Yua likes to spend time in my lap as well, but Koneko is obviously much bigger than her, and having Koneko's warm back pressed against my chest, her head resting right under my chin with her ears poking up high enough to poke my cheek is comfortable. It feels good.</p><p>Still, it doesn't last for long, and everyone leaves to do their strength training, leaving me with time to go visit our guest.</p><p>Once again I [Void Travel] into the woods and step into the spot right behind Kuroka. This time she doesn't attack but instead puts some distance between us even as she twirls to face me, relaxing only after she realizes that it's me.</p><p>"Is it really necessary to appear behind me like that?" she asks, half teasing and half annoyed as she stands up and crosses her arms.</p><p>"People's reactions are way too entertaining to <em>not </em>do it," I reply with a grin. I pull out a plate of still hot curry from my inventory. "Here, since you've been hanging around for so long, I thought that maybe you haven't eaten yet."</p><p>I can see the moment the smell hits her. My [Cooking] skill is at level 63 now, and I would guess my cooking skill rivals professional chefs, even the kind that Devils employ. And the smell of my dishes advertises their taste well. If I hadn't just had a couple of plates of this myself, I'd be tempted to eat it myself.</p><p>She approaches slowly, trying her best to make it look casual, but the appeal of the food is higher than her fear of me. She 'casually' takes the food from me and steps back a little bit. "That's very considerate of you, though you don't need to worry about me," she says, even as her mouth is starting to water.</p><p>"I made enough to feed an army," I say. "What's one more plate? Though truth be told, it doesn't matter how much I make, Kon- I mean Shirone eats it all."</p><p>Kuroka picks up the spoon. "I don't care what name you call her by you know," she says. "She'll always be Shirone to me, but I understand her desire for a new name." She finally takes a bite of the food, and her eyes widen at the taste.</p><p>
  <strong>+18 Affection with Kuroka</strong>
</p><p>Before I can respond, I'm shocked into silence by the discovery that she and Koneko share at least one quality, and that's how fast they can clean a plate. In just a few heartbeats the large pile of food disappears, and the plate is left so clean I wouldn't have believed there was food on it moments ago if I hadn't just seen her eat it. There's not a single drop of sauce on her face either.</p><p>She hands the plate back to me. "Did you make this? You're quite the chef. But your portions are too small."</p><p>I check her Affection as I accept the plate from her and stash it back into my inventory. That put it at 43. The next time I get Affection with her will push her over 50 Affection. Which means now is my last chance to use a Heart Crystal for free Affection. I don't hesitate to use a Super Heart Crystal, crushing it silently in my pocket. [Sound Domain] really is one of my most useful skills.</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for reaching 50 Affection with Kuroka<br/>Effects of [Kemonomimi Lover] has been increased</strong>
</p><p>Another similarity between the two sisters, but that was more or less what I expected. Still, Kuroka's Affection just increased by almost 40 in one fell swoop.</p><p>"You know, it was a bit rude of you to invite me to watch your confrontation with Shirone, and then disappear when it happened," Kuroka says after a moment.</p><p>"Sorry about that," I apologize. "I realized it at the time, but I thought a bit of privacy would help, and that was more important than making sure you could see."</p><p>Kuroka shrugs. "Well, it seemed to work out, so I'll forgive you." She glances at me. "It <em>did</em> work, right?"</p><p>"Better than I hoped, actually," I reply. "I'm not sure what her feelings are about you, but she's almost entirely accepted her Nekoshou heritage and Senjutsu."</p><p>"Good," she says, and her shoulders relax some. "That's….that's really good to hear."</p><p>"We practiced some Senjutsu, but it seems she doesn't know much, and unfortunately neither do I," I explain. "I know a few techniques that could <em>maybe</em> be called Senjutsu techniques," if you categorize anything that used SP as Senjutsu anyways, "But I can't say I know Senjutsu or how to teach it."</p><p>She gives me an odd look for a moment. I don't know how to interpret it, but eventually, she makes a decision and sighs. "I'll give you some pointers then. How many days is it until the Rating Game?"</p><p>I grimace. "Only one day of training left. Sunday is a rest day and the Game itself is on Monday."</p><p>Kuroka nods. "Nothing complicated then. What techniques did she know? I'm surprised she knows any at all."</p><p>"She can increase her strength, speed, and dexterity at the cost of her stamina, and she can create and throw handfuls of blue flames."</p><p>"That first one is likely Touki," Kuroka muses. "Not a surprise, that should be so instinctual for her that she'd barely even have to think about it to use it. The downside is that it will take serious work to increase its effectiveness. The flames are just life force given form, it's a pretty simple technique. I'm glad she's able to use it though, I never taught her it. She was too young for fighting before we...parted ways."</p><p>"It sounds like you're not the only sister to have some natural talent," I comment.</p><p>Kuroka smiles fondly. "I hope that is the case. Still, it sounds like she has a very good foundation already considering how she hasn't been taught at all. With the short amount of time left, I'd say it's not worth trying to teach her a new technique. There's not any that she could learn in time that would be helpful." Kuroka shakes her head. "No, in this case, solidifying her foundation would work better. Work on improving the quality of her aura flames and her Touki, the former during sparring and the latter through meditation."</p><p>"Easy enough," I say. There's a moment where we both go quiet, both of us unsure of how to continue the conversation.</p><p>"Do you think-" Kuroka starts before cutting herself off. "No nevermind, it doesn't matter."</p><p>"Ask anyways," I say. "I'll answer if I can."</p><p>She hesitates, and she's looking away from me, to the side, but after a moment she speaks up. "Do you think I could talk to Shirone now? That I could see her again?"</p><p>Her question catches me off guard. Is this the same person who tried to strongarm Koneko into coming with her in canon? Now that I think about it, it might not be. The Kuroka in front of me isn't a character, she's a person, and she's definitely changed her attitude about Koneko in just the short time since I first talked to her. And this situation is completely different. She's not accompanied by another member of the Khaos Brigade, and she doesn't have to make excuses about why she's here or what her goals are.</p><p>"I'm not sure," I admit carefully. "It would go better than if you did it before, I think. But...her feelings about you are a mess. She definitely no longer believes the official story, and if you tell her the truth of what happened, she'll probably listen. But I don't know what would happen after that. I don't think she's going to reach a better point for you to talk to her again, and I can't guess how she'll react to you explaining things to her, but I do know that you'll have to do that no matter what if you want to fix your relationship with her." I sigh. "Just please wait until after the Rating Game. She'll have a bit more confidence then, and I don't want to risk a relapse when it's right around the corner."</p><p>"I see," Kuroka murmurs. "Fine, I'll wait. I've waited this long, I don't need to rush things now." I feel her emotions shift, her uncertainty lessening and a different emotion rising. Is that...mirth? She looks at me with a teasing grin. "After your chat and training with her, Shirone ended up catching quite the show, didn't she?"</p><p>"Don't think I didn't notice that you were also in that audience," I reply, accepting the change in topic. Kuroka watched Koneko, so of course she had seen Koneko watching us, and got a good look herself. Though unlike the younger cat girl, Kuroka didn't get off on watching us. Or at least, not to the point of touching herself. Out of curiosity, I use [Lewd Scouter] on her.</p><p><strong>Kuroka<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 63<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Submission, Impregnation</strong></p><p>The impregnation fetish I could have guessed, but the submission one is a surprise. Does it stem from wanting to have children with someone strong? I can see a possible connection there. But more relevant, with a moderately high arousal, maybe she enjoyed the show a bit more than I thought. Without the incest fetish, I doubt she got off on watching Koneko get off. Though without having checked her arousal before this point, I can't say what her normal level of arousal is.</p><p>"Well you did seem to be advertising it, being so loud in such an open place," Kuroka teased.</p><p>"Atsuko enjoys the thrill, and I'm nothing if not accommodating with the preferences of my girls," I reply. "Still, I didn't expect us to be seen. Not that I minded."</p><p>"It seems the three of you enjoyed yourselves quite a bit," Kuroka says. "I suppose Shirone is old enough to be interested in that sort of thing now." Kuroka sighs exaggeratedly. "She's grown up so fast."</p><p>"Are you saying you didn't also enjoy yourself?" I tease her. "That's a shame, I like to make sure I satisfy everyone."</p><p>She laughs. "Well I didn't <em>not</em> enjoy the show," she admits. "But I've never been one for the sidelines. I prefer to have a much more <em>active</em> role in things." Her voice is practically purring with that last sentence.</p><p>"Speaking of which, I did just bring you dinner. If you're that interested in an active role, we could get a little rough together if you'd like," I tease her, referencing her words yesterday.</p><p>Her emotions shift, all of them decreasing a bit, and her nervousness increasing. Shit, I guess I pushed too far. Whatever had her scared yesterday is still a thing, even if she likes me more now.</p><p>She chuckles. "Maybe next time big guy," she says. "But for tonight, I need to get going, I've been gone for long enough as it is." She does a good job hiding her nervousness. If it weren't for [Empathy] I don't think I would have realized.</p><p>"Alright then," I reply easily. "Feel free to come watch again tomorrow. I'll try to do at least some training with Koneko where you can see it."</p><p>She smiles. "I'd appreciate it." A teleportation circle appears beneath her feet, and she vanishes.</p><p>I sigh, now alone in the forest. That almost went well. I need to figure out what has her so nervous. Or get her Affection high enough that it doesn't matter.</p><p>I shrug. I'll figure it out tomorrow. I have a couple of things to take care of before it's time for massages.</p><hr/><p>The gentle sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoes through the massage room as I thrust against Akeno. I have my arms wrapped around her legs, held upright and close against my chest, her ankles just slightly above my right shoulder. My dick is between her thighs, encapsulated by the soft and warm flesh there, even as the underside of my erection grinds against her pussy lips. I feel the heat and slickness of her arousal and the small nub that is her clit.</p><p>It took an interesting series of events to end up here. First, Akeno had arrived for her massage super early. Before I had finished Kiba's massage even. She seemed...not <em>hornier</em>, but she didn't waste any time inviting me to take the lead and initiate things, not caring about the massage at all.</p><p>Of course, I didn't hesitate to do so. She had been a little nervous when I climbed on top of her, but when I positioned us and made it clear what I was aiming for, she relaxed. In fact, she seemed very into the idea of some grinding as I fucked her thighs.</p><p>I'm really starting to enjoy these sessions with Akeno. Sex with her still isn't an option, but there's so much foreplay and non-penetrative sex we've been able to experiment with, and much of it has been new to me.</p><p>And honestly, Akeno is seriously beautiful, and I don't think I can ever get tired of seeing her naked, below me, moaning as her face is flushed with arousal, her long black hair splayed out behind her. I want to fuck her so badly, but I know how to be patient. Still, maybe a little push would be appropriate here.</p><p>"You know," I say casually, between thrusts. "There's not much left to do after this." She looks at me, confused. I assume a large part of that is why I'm talking during this, but I persist. "Sex I mean. We're running out of foreplay."</p><p>I increase her arousal with [Erotic Pierrot] after I say that and as she processes it. Honestly, because of the situation we're in, her arousal is high enough that I can't affect it much, or at least not very quickly. Still, it's worth the trouble. She blushes but doesn't respond.</p><p>"We're almost having sex right now," I comment, pushing down harder, focusing on where my hard dick rubs against her wet folds. "All I'd have to do is pull back and change my angle just <em>slightly</em> downwards, and then there wouldn't be any 'almost' about it."</p><p>Her breathing grows heavier, her chest heaving more. I can feel her arousal increasing without my aid. She definitely likes the thought. So I keep pushing.</p><p>"Imagine it," I say in a husky voice. "Instead of reaching your belly button," I say as I thrust at an angle that pushes against her stomach, the head of my penis indeed reaching her belly button. "Imagine me thrusting that far into you, filling every inch of you."</p><p>Her face contorts in silent pleasure as she bites her lip. I feel her trying to move her hips, though she lacks the leverage to move them much. I increase the strength of [Touch of Pleasure] by just a notch as I start to thrust faster. She's close, I can tell. I let my own orgasm, which I've been holding back for the past few minutes, start to climb to the surface. When she climaxes with a muffled moan, I do as well, shooting strand after strand of sticky cum all over her stomach and chest as I thrust.</p><p>We both stay like that for a moment, her legs still pressed against my chest, catching our breath. Soon, I carefully untangle myself from her and get off of the table. Not for the first time, I'm grateful that the table I got is so sturdy.</p><p>As I get off of her, Akeno sits up. She swallows, but then puts on her normal confident and teasing expression. "You mind cleaning me up again?" she asks, looking down at the mess I left on her upper body. It's definitely the biggest mess I've made on her yet.</p><p>"I don't know if I should yet," I tease. "I'm still enjoying the view."</p><p>She raises an eyebrow at me. "And should I simply walk back to my room like this?" she asks a little sarcastically.</p><p>"That <em>would</em> be pretty hot," I joke.</p><p>She doesn't react like I expect, with a scoff or rolled eyes or a glare. Instead, to my surprise, she hesitates as she considers it. I struggle to keep my own face static as surprise washes over me. Will she?</p><p>She stands up from the table, a confident expression on her face, one that she definitely doesn't feel. Her emotions are more of a mix of excitement and nervousness. "Fine, I'll do exactly that then," she says, heading straight for the door.</p><p>I consider warning her but decide not to, and she flings the door open to find herself face to face with Rias. Both of them freeze, looking at the other. Akeno stares at Rias in surprise, while Rias stares at Akeno and the <em>very</em> obvious results of what we did clearly displayed on her tits and stomach.</p><p>Akeno recovers her wits faster though. "He's all yours Rias," I hear Akeno say in a voice that almost sounds casual. "We just finished up." Before Rias can respond, Akeno steps past her and disappears down the hall. Rias watches her go, face still shocked, before turning back to me. Ah right, I realize I'm still naked.</p><p>"It was her idea," I say before Rias can ask me anything, and as I throw on some clothes.</p><p>Rias frowns at me, but then she sighs. "You two, I swear." She glances at the table. "Do you need time to...clean up?"</p><p>"No, she took the mess with her," I reply. "Everything is good to go here."</p><p>Rias eyes the table for a moment, but not seeing anything wrong with it, she shrugs, and removes her towel, and lays down on the table. I don't waste any time breaking out my massage oil and spreading it on her back.</p><p>"So," Rias says as I get started. "Koneko. What happened there?"</p><p>Hmm. What's the best way to tell her? I can't explain the bits about Kuroka, but I shouldn't need to, I can use the same story I told Koneko. That's probably the safest option. So I do, laying out my suspicions and my findings, claiming Serafall as my source for the official information, and adding in Koneko's own account.</p><p>"In some ways, it doesn't matter why Kuroka did what she did," I continue. "But it matters a lot to Koneko, and between the possibility that it was more...meditated than the official report says, and the promise of my assistance, it seems to have helped a lot in overcoming her fears. Her Senjutsu is a little rusty, but we spent today improving it, and she quickly grew more and more comfortable with it."</p><p>"I see," Rias responds. "It's true, I never once believed for a second that Koneko would ever do something like that to me. But even when I told her that, I don't think it helped. But I hadn't thought about the fact that Brother thought the same, obviously, and never did I even think to question what happened with her sister, despite having all the same information as you."</p><p>"No doubt your brother was the one that told you," I comment. "You had no reason not to accept his words as the truth, especially back then, when you were younger. But you should be old enough now to realize why he would lie, even to you."</p><p>"I can't say I like it, but I do understand it," she admits. "I'm annoyed though. I'm annoyed that you helped her so much with her issues in two days when I did nothing for years."</p><p>"Doing nothing was the right move at first," I reassure her. "She needed time. And I think it would have been difficult for you to help her with your issues. Sometimes some outside help is needed when it comes to things like this."</p><p>Rias is quiet for a while and I continue her massage. [Empathy] senses a jumble of emotions from her, but between how muted they are and how closely they're mixed together, it's hard to label any of them. "So this is another way you've helped me…" she murmurs quietly. If it weren't for [Sound Domain], I don't think I would have been able to make it out, so I pretend like I don't hear.</p><p>"Axton," she speaks up as I work on her legs. "Akeno told me that you use the group bath with Asia, Atsuko, and Aika after you're done here. Could I ask that you go alone tonight? You've done so much for me, and I want to take the chance to thank you. The least I can do is wash your back."</p><p>To be honest, it feels like a weird way to thank me. She probably came up with it thanks to her obsession with Japanese culture. But I'm not going to turn down a bath with Rias, even if it means not having one with my girls. "There's no need to thank me, but I'll happily accept your invitation." I finish massaging her legs and step back, indicating that I'm done.</p><p>She sits up, and I notice she's refusing to meet my eyes and her face is flushed. "Good, I'm glad," she says. Nervousness radiates from her. What exactly does she have planned? "I'll meet you there then," she says before getting off the table and quickly wrapping a towel around her. In moments she's fled the room.</p><p>Aika, Atsuko, and Asia are all next, one after the other. I make sure to tell them that we're not meeting in the bath tonight, and they're a little disappointed, but I make it up to each of them by giving them a very good massage and a few orgasms each. And I have a few of my own as well, of course. I'm very appreciative of my sexual stamina, even if it means I'm always still hard after sex.</p><p>Koneko is last like she usually is, but her reaction is new. The smell of sex is a little stronger than normal, but not by a huge amount. But instead of sniffing at the air, confused and curious, she instead blushes. Oh? Does she recognize the smell? I use [Lewd Scouter] on her quickly.</p><p><strong>Koneko Toujou<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderately Low<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 83<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Voyeurism</strong></p><p>I've used this skill on her before, but then it said low arousal, low perversion, and no fetishes. Her voyeurism earlier seems to have left quite the impression on her though. An increased perversion and a new fetish. And on top of that, I'd wager she recognizes the smell of sex now and knows exactly why this room smells like it does.</p><p>"Hey there, ready for your massage?" I ask her casually, pretending not to notice her obvious reaction. I see her arousal increase to moderately high, but it doesn't move past there. I contemplate helping it increase some more but decide against it. It's best to let this develop naturally for right now.</p><p>She nods and starts stripping as normal. I turn around, giving her a semblance of privacy, even as I peek using [Void Sight]. I smile to myself as exactly what I was hoping for happens, and she strips just a little more than usual, removing her bra. Koneko has the smallest chest of the girls here, but she's definitely not completely flat. Her boobs are cute little hills on her chest, topped by hardened nipples.</p><p>She lays down on the table, and I turn around and start her massage. I don't comment on her missing article of clothing, but I do make sure to focus on the spot that used to be covered by the back of the sports bra she previously wore. I also use [Increase Sensitivity] and [Touch of Pleasure] at a higher degree at that spot, silently encouraging and rewarding her for her decision.</p><p>We're both silent during the entire massage. To my slight disappointment, Koneko doesn't moan or make any noises, though she does squirm occasionally under my hands. I can tell she's enjoying herself, and there's an edge to her enjoyment that wasn't there before.</p><p>Still, the massage ends without incident, other than Koneko's increased enjoyment and arousal. She sits up before I have a chance to turn around, blushing but not hiding herself. She casually gets dressed and turns to leave. She pauses at the door and then turns back to me. "Good night," she says.</p><p>I smile back at her. "Good night Koneko," I respond. "Sleep well, okay?" She nods and then leaves, heading towards her room.</p><p>All that's left is to go see Rias in the bath. She definitely has something planned, and it's almost certainly something sexual, but it's the details I'm interested in. I'm fairly certain sleeping with her isn't an option until Riser is dealt with. But anything short of that is possible, though most of it is unlikely. Rias isn't as forward as Akeno, and the closest thing we've had to a sexual encounter is when Akeno gave me a reacharound that resulted in me cumming on Rias. And the massages, in a way.</p><p>There's no point wondering though, not when I'll find out in a moment. I pack up the massage supplies and leave the room, teleporting straight into the changing room for the bath. [Void Detect] shows that Rias is the only one in the bath, sitting nervously on one of the plastic stools in the room. She's completely naked, and I take that to mean she expects me to be naked as well. I'm no longer erect, but that will change quickly. Still, if that really is what she's aiming for, I doubt it'll be an issue.</p><p>Stashing my clothes into my inventory, I open the door to the bath and walk in. Rias looks up at me and smiles, hiding her nervousness. "Axton! I'm glad you made it," she greets me while standing up. Her eyes flicker down to my crotch for a moment before returning to my face. "Here, please sit down, so I can wash your back."</p><p>"Sure thing," I say, sitting down at the stool so that I face the mirror hanging on the wall. There's a shower head hanging on the wall below it, and Rias grabs it, turning it on. I sit in silence as she rinses me off with pleasantly warm water.</p><p>I can feel her nervousness growing slightly, but so is her arousal, albeit slower. I decide to help her out a little by nudging her arousal slightly with [Erotic Pierrot]. Interestingly, shortly after I start doing so, her nervousness starts to decrease.</p><p>Once I'm rinsed off she puts down the showerhead and reaches to my side, where there's a bucket holding a large sponge and a bottle of soap. Soon, I feel the comfortable feeling of a soapy sponge against my back.</p><p>"I know I've said thank you multiple times," Rias starts as she scrubs my back. "But I don't think words are enough to really convey how much I appreciate everything you've done. In the handful of days you've been training us, I've seen my Peerage grow in strength more than I ever thought they could in such a short time frame. And not only that, I have two new Peerage members because of you, and everyone is happy and getting along well. And now that you've helped Koneko so much…" she trails off.</p><p>Suddenly, the feeling of a sponge is replaced by the feeling of her pillowy boobs pressed against my back, her nipples erect and poking into me. I feel the warmth of her breath on my ear as she leans forward and whispers to me in a sultry tone. "I'm really, <em>really</em>, grateful."</p><p>The situation had already been working on slowly arousing me, but that combination attack ensured I was at full mast within seconds instead of minutes. "I'm glad to help," I say casually. "Though I have to say, I do like the way you show your appreciation."</p><p>I can feel her grow a little more confident at those words. "I thought you might," she says, voice just a little smug. "And it's something I'm more than happy to do for you."</p><p>I bet she is. I have [Touch of Pleasure] activated, which is really nice because it just needs skin contact. <em>I</em> don't have to be the one doing the touching for it to work. I also use [Erotic Pierrot] to keep slowly nudging up her arousal.</p><p>She washes me thoroughly using her breasts, occasionally pulling back to apply more soap to them. She doesn't stop at my back either. She moves on to my arms, encompassing them between her breasts, and even my legs, pressing herself against my thighs. She keeps her eyes faced down whenever I can see her face, but I can see how flushed and aroused she is.</p><p>She pauses when the only place left she hasn't washed is my chest, but she does reposition herself in between my legs. I'm fully erect now, and have been since before she finished my back. Due to her eyes being cast down and avoiding my face, it's in the forefront of her vision. Her arousal spikes when she sees it, but she moves forward instead, pushing her chest against mine, hiding it from her view.</p><p>Though I don't think she thought it through, because now it's pressing up against her stomach. Rias's breath grows heavier, and I can tell she's <em>very</em> aware of that fact right about now. But she determinedly starts moving, rubbing her soapy tits against my chest.</p><p>Which is when another 'problem' arises. Between the length of my penis, and the size of her boobs, it only takes her moving a couple of inches down before the two of them touch.</p><p>Once again, Rias pauses. But not for as long as I expected, and I feel something shift inside of her. Her nervousness doesn't disappear, but its presence lessens, and her arousal rises to the forefront. She finally looks up at me, smiling, before moving downwards, slipping my dick between her soapy breasts.</p><p>I inhale sharply at the sudden pleasure. It feels even better between Rias's boobs than it did with Akeno. Is it the soap? The buildup? Or just a difference in their breasts? I'm not sure, but I think I might be on Atsuko's side on who has the better tits between Rias and Akeno.</p><p>Rias's confidence grows again when she sees my reaction, and she smirks as she pushes her tits together tighter and moves up and down faster. The tip of my dick juts out of her cleavage with every downwards movement.</p><p>"Rias," I say softly as my pleasure rises and my orgasm approaches. Her eyes widen slightly at my tone, and I feel her own arousal spike even higher. She speeds up her movements even more, her gaze hungry and locked onto my face.</p><p>I don't hold back, either my climax or my expressions, and I groan as I cum. She flinches as the first burst of cum splashes against her chin, but she doesn't stop, milking every last drop out of me.</p><p>By the time I finish cumming, her chin and lower face are dripping with my semen. She's practically panting now, and her arousal is at very high. From the way she's eyeing my dick, and the way she casually puts a finger full of my cum into her mouth, I almost think that she's about to escalate things.</p><p>But she shakes her head and gets a hold of herself. She smiles at me, and her gentle smile is at odds with the state of her face. "I'm glad you were able to enjoy my thank you," she says. She stands up. "In the future, if there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to let me know."</p><p>"I'll be sure to do that," I say with an amused grin.</p><p>She nods, and then promptly turns around and leaves. Ah, there's the embarrassment. It's getting stronger as she walks away, probably as she thinks over what she just did. I can't figure Rias out. She swaps between embarrassment and being very forward at the drop of a hat.</p><p>[Void Detect] picks up her wiping her face off with a towel. Not optimal, but I guess she wanted to escape the bath as quickly as possible. I rinse myself off and decide to sit in the bath for a few moments.</p><p>A titjob from Rias, huh? Well, that falls within the range I predicted, but I was still surprised. Despite my progress with the other girls, I didn't expect to make much with Rias, not in terms of sex at least. Still, I'm glad it did.</p><p>I sigh and let myself sink further into the hot bathwater. I can't let myself relax too long. But just a moment longer should be fine.</p><hr/><p>I lean back in my chair and silently throw my hands into the air. Finally, after a week of grinding, [Enchanting] has reached level 75 and I can make Ultimate tier enchantments, something I've been waiting for since I got the skill. I haven't bothered experimenting much with the skill because I didn't want to waste any enchantment slots on my good equipment on any enchantments below the Ultimate tier. Once I enchant an object, I can't go back.</p><p>That's not a concern now though, so now I can enchant to my heart's content. I grimace. Or I <em>would</em> be able to do that, but enchanting crystals are still in short supply, especially for Ultimate tier ones.</p><p>I combine all of my remaining Major Catalysts into Ultimate Catalysts, glad to see that the ratio remains three of the lesser catalysts to form a higher tier one, and I wind up with 16 Ultimate Catalysts. With my new limit of four enchantments per item, that's enough to fully enchant four items.</p><p>Which isn't enough. It's not enough to increase my own strength, and it's definitely not enough to enchant equipment for the entirety of Rias's peerage like I planned.</p><p>Thankfully, this is a solvable problem. I just need to grind in the dungeon. And after we clear the Hardmode Forest dungeon tomorrow morning, hopefully another NPC will appear that I can buy things from. But until then, I can get back to work grinding the Hardmode Pharaoh's Tomb dungeon.</p><p>Yua is at Momo's, spending the night with her, something that she's been doing a lot since she learned how to teleport. I'd invite her to join me in the dungeon, but unlike me, she does need sleep, so I don't bother her. Kyu is off...somewhere. I haven't seen her around lately. I think she's off keeping herself distracted until I can take her on a date. I know she's asked Yua to teleport her a few times.</p><p>Ah well, it's not important right now. Right now is dungeon time. I go to use [Dungeon Traversal], but I'm interrupted by a phone call. I check the caller ID and see Serafall's face on my screen.</p><p>"Hey Serafall, what's up?" I say as I answer the phone.</p><p>"<em>Axton!</em>" comes her cheery voice. "<em>I've got two bits of good news. First, the house is done!</em>"</p><p>I blink in surprise. "What, already? I know you said you were going to get it done fast, but I expected it to be done...I don't know, Sunday? At the earliest?"</p><p>"<em>Like I would make you wait that long</em>," she replies. "<em>I hired the best construction crew, and I made sure they didn't slack.</em>"</p><p>"I see," I say, feeling a little sorry for the crew that had Serafall breathing down their necks. "Well, give me that address and I'll pop over for a look."</p><p>"<em>So you're free right now?</em>" she asks. "<em>Good, because the second piece of good news is that I managed to get a last-minute meeting with Heaven and the Fallen about those fertility potions of yours. Tonight, and it's gonna happen at your new place.</em>"</p><p>I sit up straighter. "I would've thought a major meeting like this wouldn't be so...rushed," I say. "I mean, yeah I'm free and I can pop over. But is it really okay for it to happen in the middle of the night with such little warning?"</p><p>"<em>I got lucky actually,</em>" Serafall explains. "<em>I sent messages to both of them, and they both replied that they were free now, or not for days. Plus, last-minute means no one will know of this meeting beforehand, and that really reduces the chance of things being interrupted.</em>"</p><p>I sigh. "I guess I would like a reduced chance of my brand new home turning into a battlefield," I admit. "Alright, give me two minutes. I recently called an old friend who is acting as my butler, and I want him to start looking the place over."</p><p>"<em>Oh, is that who that old guy is?</em>" Serafall asks, confirming that she's spying on us. If I hadn't already assumed that she and Sirzechs are doing so, I'd be creeped out. Instead, I'm just annoyed that I haven't been able to detect how they're spying on us at all. "<em>Hey, what's his name and where did you meet him? I can't find any record of him at all</em>."</p><p>"Not surprising," I deflect "Anyways, I'm going to go get him, you text me the address, and I'll be there in a few."</p><p>"<em>Boooooo, don't ignore my question like that you mean-</em>" I cut off her complaint by hanging up. My plan about how to explain Wilhelm, and any other companion gem I use, is simply to not bother explaining. I'll just call them old friends and leave it a mystery.</p><p>I dress up in some slightly nicer clothes and knock on Wilhelm's door. It only takes a minute for me to explain the situation, and another one for him to be dressed, packed up, and ready to go. Which is more than enough time for me to get the address from Serafall, find the location with [Void Sight], and then [Void Travel] the both of us to the front gate.</p><p>"Holy shit," I say as we appear in front of the house. I had expected a large home because I was dealing with one of the four leaders of the Devils, and Devils definitely tend to indulge in extravagance. But the mansion in front of me is far bigger than I expected. I'm not sure mansion is a big enough word to describe the building in front of me. If it weren't for the fact that, outside of a few small buildings I saw spotting the grounds, it's all one building, I'd call it a complex. The house itself ranges from one to at least five floors, if not more. It's so big that [Void Detect], which currently has a range of over 88 meters, doesn't reach the other end of it.</p><p>"That's <em>unholy</em> shit, please and thank you," comes a voice from the front door. I spot Serafall there, dressed not in her magical girl outfit but the business suit she was in that time I met her and to originally discuss the fertility potions.</p><p>I roll my eyes. "Of course, that's my bad," I apologize. "But really, what the fuck is this?" I ask her as I approach her, Wilhelm trailing silently behind me.</p><p>"Well you didn't specify a size, and prior to a couple of days ago you didn't specify what sorts of facilities you wanted," Serafall explains. "So I gave you a house with everything!"</p><p>"I certainly won't need to worry about running out of room again, huh?" I ask rhetorically as I climb up the front steps. "Ah right. Serafall, this is Wilhelm van Astrea, and he'll be serving as my head butler for the foreseeable future. Wilhelm, this is Serafall Leviathan, one of the four leaders of the Devils, primarily focused on Foreign Affairs."</p><p>Wilhelm puts a hand over his chest and bows slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Leviathan."</p><p>"Nope, you gotta call me Serafall," she corrects him. "Or Levi-tan~, but only when I'm in my Magical Girl outfit." She winks at him.</p><p>"I'll be sure to do that in the future," Wilhelm responds with a small smile. I'm honestly pretty impressed by how unfazed he is by her demeanor.</p><p>Serafall pouts briefly at his reply before turning to me. "Come on, we have a few minutes before they arrive. Not enough for a tour I'm afraid, but we can talk a bit before we get there. Follow me, I'll show you to the meeting room."</p><p>"Wilhelm, why don't you go ahead and start getting familiar with the place?" I ask him. "See what facilities are available, how much room we have for both guests and servants, and an estimate on the number of people I'll need to hire to keep this place maintained. Also, pick out a room for yourself."</p><p>"As you wish," Wilhelm responds, giving me a short bow. He breaks off in another direction to start exploring the grounds.</p><p>I turn back to Serafall and she starts quickly walking into the building. As I follow her, we pass through a large lobby, though it's not as ornate as I expected. The furnishings are made of expensive-looking woods and some nice-looking stone, but there's no gold trimmings, no fancy art, no statues.</p><p>Serafall spots me looking around. "I figured I'd leave the details of the decorations to you," she said, guessing what I was thinking. "I don't know your taste in art after all."</p><p>"I appreciate the consideration," I say. Truth be told, I'd rather fill this place with trophies. A lobby is an introduction to any that arrive, and I want to make sure the message that my lobby sends is the right one.</p><p>We don't have to travel far to reach the meeting room, which makes sense. The place you conduct business shouldn't be far from the entrance. I also note that we're not too far from the dining room or kitchen.</p><p>The meeting room itself is nice. One window overlooks a courtyard, and on the opposite wall is a counter with a spread of pastries and coffee. In the middle of the room is a rectangular table large enough to seat eight people, and chairs to go with it. It's simple, and wouldn't look out of place in some fancy business office.</p><p>I grab a pastry and sit at the head of the table, and prop my feet up on the table. Why? Because I've always wanted to do this, and I'm not going to pass this chance up. Serafall smiles and rolls her eyes. See, I knew she would get it. That's why she's the best Satan.</p><p>"So," I say, addressing Serafall. "Strategy? What exactly are we strategizing?"</p><p>"Mostly I wanted to make it clear just how valuable those potions of yours are," she says. "Because I don't think you do."</p><p>I grimace. I thought this might come up. "I think I got a better idea after that first meeting."</p><p>"You realized after I reacted to your number, yes," Serafall says. "But things are quite a bit more complicated than that." She sighs. "What do you know about the internal politics of Devils?"</p><p>I frown. "There are a number of Pillar Clans that act as nobles, overseeing the lands and lower class Devils. Above them are the Satans. I don't know how it works on a lower level than that."</p><p>She waves her hand. "Not our government, but about the two political factions."</p><p>Ah. "You mean the Old Satan Faction and the New Satan Faction," I say. She nods, so I continue. "The names explain most of it. After the civil war where the Satans were replaced, Devils were split in two. Those who supported the new Satans and wished for peace, and those who didn't and wanted to wage war against Heaven and the Fallen while they were weakened. The Old Satan faction is essentially the remnants of the losing side of the civil war."</p><p>She makes a so-so gesture with her hand. "Things are more nuanced than that, but that's close enough for our purposes. The problem with the Fertility potions isn't their monetary value, so much as the effect that that many would have on our society."</p><p>"We talked about that before," I remember. "Briefly at least. An increase in population could upset the uneasy balance between the three factions."</p><p>"Right," Serafall says. "Those fifty fertility potions alone, if used strategically, would be enough to start making people nervous. That being said, it wouldn't change the balance of the three factions by enough to start anything, and if it was just those fifty potions, things would be fine. But the fact that they can be supplied indefinitely means that essentially, Devils no longer have a population problem." She grimaces. "And as much as I hate to admit it, how close we are to extinction is a big reason war doesn't break out again. It's the strongest argument we have to dissuade people from joining the Old Satan Faction."</p><p>"That's why we're having this meeting though, right?" I ask. "Give the other two factions the same advantage, and the stalemate continues."</p><p>But she shakes her head. "Unfortunately, things aren't so simple. What do you know about how Angels and Fallen reproduce?"</p><p>I frown and rack my brain. "It's just as difficult for them to conceive right? Or at least roughly as difficult. And on top of that, Angels have to be extremely careful about reproduction, or else they risk falling."</p><p>She shakes her head again. "While what you said is correct, it's missing an important part. There cannot be any more pureblooded Angels, and there can't be anymore pureblooded Fallen except through an Angel falling.." Serafall sighs. "If you're going to be involved in this level of negotiation, there's something you should know. God is dead." She winces slightly as she says his name.</p><p>I blink slowly. I had completely forgotten that wasn't common knowledge. "I see," I say slowly.</p><p>She looks at me strangely. "You don't seem very surprised," she comments.</p><p>"Well, to be honest, I wasn't even sure there was a God," I say, leaning heavily on my ability to come up with reasonable-sounding bullshit explanations. "I didn't believe in him before learning that Heaven and Hell were real. And since learning of the three factions, I haven't heard a single mention of God. I mean, Heaven exists, so it makes sense that he would. But the concept was pretty hazy in my mind, so learning that he's dead...well the most surprising thing is that the Biblical God was something that could even die."</p><p>"I keep forgetting you've barely known about the factions for a few weeks," Serafall says with a sigh. "Yes, he was something that could die, though it took some...unique circumstances for it to happen. The details of which aren't important, but it happened at the end of the Great War. It's part of the reason the War ended, and why we strive for peace." She shakes her head. "But most importantly, he was the only one that could make Angels. Angels cannot reproduce with each other to make more Angels. And without new pureblooded Angels, the number of new pureblooded Fallen is limited by the current number of Angels."</p><p>Ah. "So they don't need my fertility potions, because it doesn't work to restore their own numbers," I say as I pull my feet off of the table and sit up more seriously.</p><p>For the third time, Serafall shakes her head. "Sort of. If they didn't benefit from them at all, I wouldn't have bothered holding this meeting. They can still reproduce with other races to create hybrid children. Angels almost exclusively do this with humans, specifically faithful members of the Church. The Fallen do this with any number of the other races. But they still face the same low conception rates as we do. Still, those half and half children would join their ranks, and if it came to war, they would fight as well."</p><p>I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Okay, to summarize then. My potions are <em>extremely</em> valuable to Devils because it solves your problem. Almost too valuable to the point where it risks a second Civil War. Meanwhile, the other two Factions would benefit from it, but it's really more of a bandaid." I look at her. "So what's the solution here? Since we're having this meeting, I assume you have one that isn't just 'Don't sell the potions'."</p><p>"It's simple," she says with a smug grin. "I want you to lie about how valuable these potions are and how difficult they are to make."</p><p>I frown and mull it over. "Assuming you pretend to have fewer potions than I actually gave you, you want me to prevent the problem with the Devils in the first place by making my potions an imperfect solution because it only helps a relatively small amount." I shake my head. "It seems like a temporary solution at best though, and it wouldn't help the Devils as much as it could. Even if you're after peace, I would think you'd want to help your race as much as possible."</p><p>She wags her finger. "Oh, it's definitely a temporary solution, albeit one that could last a century if we do it right. And that should be enough time for us to finally finish rooting out the Old Satan Faction. See, the secret is, we've been laying the preliminary work for a more official peace between the three factions for a while now. But it's been difficult to make that final push for peace. That's where you come in."</p><p>I lean back, processing the information. "So we stall, and you use me to solidify peace between the three factions while you root out the warmongers. And once they're gone, I 'discover' some method of making the fertility potions much cheaper, allowing the Devils to reproduce at greater numbers."</p><p>It could work. In canon, peace was made shortly after the Kokabiel incident. This kicked off a war between the three factions and the Khaos Brigade and all the others who didn't want peace, but the three main factions had good relations during it. Serafall is thinking in the long term. Use my potions as that bridge in place of the Kokabiel incident, and get things started differently.</p><p>I have no doubts that fights will kick off anyways, but that's fine. At the rate I'm improving, it'll only be a few more months until very little here threatens me. And being the central point for peace between all factions is exactly where I want to be. Oh for sure, it's a giant target on my back. But it also comes with a hell of a lot of benefits, and access to resources and girls that I want to collect.</p><p>I turn back to Serafall with a grin on my face. "Okay, got it. I've sold you ten Fertility Potions because you approached me first and offered me a very good price for them. I can offer them five each for now, and exact quantities can be determined in the future, once I get a workshop set up and a proper store running. But more than that, I can offer other kinds of potions and a potential alliance. Does that sound right?"</p><p>She smiles at me, and there's a lot of teeth in her smile. "Perfect. What sort of other potions do you have?"</p><p>"A bunch, but there's only a few I'm willing to freely sell right now," I reply. "I'll make a list while we wait for them to arrive. Unless there's something else we need to cover beforehand?"</p><p>"No," Serafall says. "Just that I'd appreciate it if you focused more on the alliance aspect of things. They should be here any moment, though, so make your list quick."</p><p>I pulled out the small notebook I used to keep track of my potion recipes. Ignoring potions that are either too powerful for me to sell casually and ones that I can't get a consistent or bulk supply of ingredients for right now, I'm left with a pretty small list. I'm sure I can expand that list in time, there are a mountain of potion combinations I haven't tried yet.</p><p>As I finish my short list and start making two more copies, I speak up. "So how are they arriving?"</p><p>As if triggered by my words, a teleportation circle lights up in the corner, different from the ones I've seen so far. Not a Devil one then. I raise an eyebrow at Serafall. "They're teleporting straight here?"</p><p>"Don't worry, that's a temporary thing," she assures me. "Just for this meeting. Afterward, it'll be removed and the wards protecting against that sort of thing will be activated. We'll talk more later." She turns her attention to the circle, and as she does so a man appears.</p><p>"Azazel," I greet him as I stand up and step towards him, hand extended. "It's good to see you again. Thanks for coming."</p><p>"Of course!" he replies in a cheery voice as he shakes my hand. "Serafall told me our mystery man had something pretty interesting, and I just had to come and see it for myself."</p><p>"Hopefully by the end of the meeting you won't feel like your time has been wasted," I joke.</p><p>He chuckles politely, but there's something I can't decipher in his eyes. "Oh, I'm not worried about that. If your potion is even half as interesting as I think it is, then I could be here all day and not think my time wasted." He looks past me to see Serafall, who has also stood up. "Leviathan, it's good to see you as well. I appreciate the invite."</p><p>"Help yourself to pastries and coffee," I invite him, indicating the spread. "We're just waiting on Michael now."</p><p>"Ooh, don't mind if I do," Azazel says as he pours himself a coffee. "Though I'm surprised I got here before Michael. I'm used to being the fashionably late one."</p><p>"He should be here-" Serafall starts before the teleportation circle lights up again, cutting her off. "Right now I guess," she finishes.</p><p>A short moment later another man appears. I think at least. If it weren't for his stature, I would suspect he was more of a boy. Then again, I'm only 16 myself. His face is young though, and somewhat effeminate. Not the look I expected from the one to sit on God's throne.</p><p>"You must be Michael," I say as I greet him with an offered hand, which he takes. "I'm Axton, it's a pleasure to meet you."</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions perk activated!<br/>+25 Affection with Michael</strong>
</p><p>He smiles at me and it's the most genuine smile I've ever seen in my life, despite the melancholy clear on his face. So this is an Angel, huh? "The pleasure is mine, young man," he says. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, I had some last-minute things to address before I left."</p><p>"Not at all," I say. "Please, help yourself to refreshments, and we'll get started."</p><p>He nods, but heads directly for the table, not bothering with the refreshments. Fair enough. I make eye contact with Serafall as I head back to my seat. She raises an eyebrow at me, though I'm not sure why. I raise one of my own back at her, but she just shakes her head. Whatever, it seems like it's not important.</p><p>I take a seat at the end of the table and look down. To my right are Serafall and Azazel with an empty space between them. Michael is sitting one chair away on my left. All three of them are looking at me expectantly. Including Serafall, who also looks amused. I guess I'm the one leading this discussion now.</p><p>"I'd like to start out by thanking you guys for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to talk to me, and I'll try to make things quick," I say. "So I'll get right to it. Last week Serafall here learned of my ability to make potions, something that is apparently extremely rare. One of those potions in particular was of interest to her. My fertility potions."</p><p>"I'm not sure how much Serafall has told you about them so I'll go over them real quick. While I can make weaker versions, the best version of the Fertility potion I have guarantees that the person who drinks it will successfully conceive a child during every sexual encounter within the next 24 hours."</p><p>Azazel's eyebrows rise, while Michael's furrow, but neither speaks up, so I continue. "I've already worked with Serafall to confirm that they work, though I haven't done extensive testing yet. I do not know what happens if both partners drink it, and I don't know how it works if used on someone infertile. But if given to a man, every woman he sleeps with for the next 24 hours will wind up pregnant. Assuming that it's vaginal sex without a condom that is."</p><p>I'm trying to couch my language to be either clinical or indirect for Michael's sake. Azazel's eyes twinkle when I mention one man impregnating multiple women. Maybe I have at least one sale right there. That would be good enough for me.</p><p>"The purpose of this meeting is twofold. One is that obviously me selling these potions to the Devils does risk some imbalance due to the population growth that would occur. I'd like to nip that fear in the bud here. I can only make so many of these. Up to now, I've only made 21 of them. One I traded to Serafall in exchange for some things and for her to test it, and another ten I sold to her after the success of the experiments." I spread my arms out wide. "She made a very good offer, and this new residence is just part of that."</p><p>Michael has a serious look on his face, and Azazel just looks amused. Wait, can angels tell if you're lying? If they can, does that work on me? Well, it's too late now. If he knows I'm lying, he's being very polite about it.</p><p>"Which brings me to the second reason," I continue. "To show that I'm not exclusively allying with the Devils and I don't seek to start up another War, I'd like to make offers to Heaven and the Fallen as well for the remaining Fertility potions. And not just those, but a large number of other potions as well that I <em>can</em> make in a much larger number.</p><p>"Now, there are a couple of things to address there," I say, continuing my monologue. I'd have gladly stopped and answered questions, but they all seem perfectly content to let me keep talking. "First, yes, neither of you benefit from the fertility potions as much as the Devils do. But I'd argue that they're still extremely valuable to each of you."</p><p>I turn to Michael. "While I'm not familiar with the exact details, I know that Angels must be very careful about going about this sort of thing or risk falling. While I can't help with that aspect, what these potions <em>can</em> offer you is assurance. Assurance that each time you put in that large amount of work and take that risk, that it <em>will</em> result in a child." He nods, and his face is hard to read, what with how melancholic he still looks, but he seems to be seriously mulling it over.</p><p>Next Azazel, who looks curious. "I admit, you probably benefit from it the least, but I have no doubt there are many within your organization who want children of their own and struggle against the low conception rate." He nods slowly, also thinking things over. No doubt going over a list of potential candidates in his head.</p><p>"Now the second thing to address is what potions I have to offer," I say, addressing all of them, including Serafall. "Right now, there are only a handful that I can produce in large enough quantities to sell in enough numbers to be worth it. That being said, now that I have this place, and once I get a few more things set up, I'll be expanding my list of offered potions considerably. But for now, these are it."</p><p>I pass out the pieces of paper I made the list of potions on, and as they read them, I pull out each potion to show it and describe each one in more detail.</p><p>"This one is the Fertility Potion we've already gone over," I say as I take one out. "All of my potions are the same size and come in the same containers. Also, all of them must be entirely drunk to take effect. Thankfully, the potions have an interesting property where they don't stick well to surfaces. If you tip one of these vials into your mouth, every drop will come out." That was just something interesting and useful I had realized while using the potions. I never have had to struggle to get the last drop out.</p><p>"These three are potions that cure wounds, restore physical stamina, and restore your magical energy respectively," I continue as I pull out Moderate versions of each of those potions. Restoring 50% is more than enough for the ones I plan to sell to everyone. That way I can upcharge for the better Major potions later on, and I can keep the Ultimate tier potions for just me and my friends and harem.</p><p>"The healing ones can turn critical wounds into minor ones, and anything below that is healed entirely," I explain. "The other two should restore roughly half of your maximum." They all perk up at that. "That's right, these potions work on your maximum, not a set amount. Someone with a larger magic pool will still have half of their magic recovered."</p><p>All three are very interested. Good, that means good things. "This one isn't as amazing, but this is my cosmetics potion," I say as I take one of those out. I only have one, but I can easily make more, they're just Genderbend potions with fewer ingredients. "If you drink this while thinking of the changes you want, you can change your hair, eye, or even skin color. This isn't terribly useful outside of maybe as part of a disguise, but it's pretty easy for me to make."</p><p>Azazel looks vaguely interested, and Serafall looks very interested, but Michael's not even paying attention to it and is looking back down at the list. Well, that's roughly what I expected of them anyways. The younger Devils and many of the Fallen all would probably love it, but I can't see Angels or the Church being terribly interested. Thankfully, I saved the most impressive for last.</p><p>"These final three are my curative ones," I explain as I pull out the final ones. "This one can cure minor issues such as burns, poisons, temporary paralysis, and a handful of other minor afflictions. This one here cures illnesses and sicknesses. And this last one cures long term or permanent debilities." The Ultimate tier version of this potion can cure curses, but I'll save that as a special order one.</p><p>The reaction to this one isn't as strong as I expected, but they do seem interested. I guess they all have their own ways of dealing with most issues like that. Serafall is the first one with a question though.</p><p>"Have you tested those last ones?" she asks, fully in business mode.</p><p>I force down a grimace. "Only the first of the three. That one works extremely well. During part of my training, I practiced a technique that had a rather nasty side effect if done improperly that would weaken me pretty severely for an hour or so. This potion would fix that immediately. The sickness one I haven't tested, but I'm confident it will work on anything short of magical illnesses, so long as they aren't permanent. The last one I admit I don't know the limits of. I don't believe it will restore missing limbs, but muscle atrophy, nerve damage, and other serious things like that I'm confident it will cure."</p><p>"How about the other ones?" Azazel asks. "Have you tested those?"</p><p>"The health, stamina, and magic potions I've tested extensively," I answer. "In fact, this past week I've been training a group as a favor and they've been invaluable during that time. As for the cosmetics potion." I pick it up. "Would any of you like to try it out? These are cheap, I don't mind giving out a free sample, though I only have the one prepared right now."</p><p>"Ooh, I do!" Serafall says, suddenly snapping out of serious business mode. I pass the potion to her and she doesn't hesitate to drain the potion immediately. I haven't actually tested it at all, so I watch in interest as she scrunches up her face in concentration and her black twintails turn a vibrant shade of pink, the color starting from the roots and traveling down until the black has been replaced with pink.</p><p>She magics up a mirror in front of her and looks at herself. "Wow, that came out great! I've tried to get my hair pink with dyes, but the color is never good and it doesn't last very long. Ajuka has ignored my requests for better hair dye. But this was so easy, and it's exactly the shade I wanted! Is it permanent?"</p><p>"As far as your body is concerned, your hair is pink, and any new hair that grows will be pink," I say. "Another cosmetic potion can override it though." Serafall keeps looking in the mirror, and I look at the other two to gauge their reactions. Azazel looks impressed and contemplative, but Michael looks kind of neutral, but I feel like he's definitely more willing to take my potions seriously now.</p><p>"Those are the potions I can make right now, but give me a few weeks and I'll have a store opened with a larger selection," I explain to the three of them.</p><p>"How are the potions made?" Azazel asks, eyes brimming with curiosity.</p><p>"Trade secret," I reply immediately. "In the broad sense, I mix specific ingredients together and use a specific kind of magic on them. But I don't plan on advertising exactly how it works."</p><p>"Who did you learn it from?" Michael asks.</p><p>"I'm self-taught," I say. "I'm very good at picking up new skills, and I accidentally discovered how to do this while experimenting."</p><p>Michael frowns. "So you are the only one that can provide these potions?"</p><p>"Most likely," I say. "It's not impossible someone else has figured it out. And the Phenex family from the Devils have their own version of my healing ones, though from what I understand their production method is completely different." I pause. "That being said, if demand picks up enough, I might take on an apprentice or two."</p><p>That definitely got their attention, and I have to suppress a grin. That sentence alone should get me what I'm really aiming for.</p><p>"Are there any side effects from the potions?" Michael asks.</p><p>"Not that I've found," I explain. "Even at times when I've used a dozen potions in a short time frame, I've never had so much as a queasy stomach from them."</p><p>"I think there's really only one more question to ask then," Azazel says, leaning forward. "How much do you want for them?"</p><p>I grin, and the negotiations start. With the help of some subtle guidance from Serafall, because I still don't really know the market value for these potions, we come to some arrangements. I don't want money, or at least not that much of it, because I already have enough money and things I can sell for money. Though I do end up with quite a bit by the time everything is said and done.</p><p>However, mostly what I ask for are things I can't purchase normally that are useful to my [Alchemy] and [Enchanting]. Rare ingredients and magical weapons mostly. I don't get as much as I'd like, but right now I'm only trading each of them five Fertility potions and taking an order for twenty of each of the other potions. Except for Michael, who isn't interested in the cosmetics potions.</p><p>As negotiations wrap up, I bring up the topic I'm really interested in. "While I'm definitely interested in making this sale here and now, I'd really prefer to form a long-term healthy relationship with the three factions that benefit us all," I say. "So with that in mind, I have just one question. How should I contact you? Not just about your current order, but about future orders, new potions, and just a way to keep in touch about whatever other matters that might crop up."</p><p>"About that," Michael speaks up first. "I and the other Angels are often too busy for business meetings like this, but I have a solution I'd like to propose. I know this is Devil territory though, so with your permission Serafall, and yours as well as the potential host Axton, I'd ask you to host a small group of representatives from the church that will act as our liaison and spokespeople."</p><p>I suppress a grin. That's exactly what I was aiming for. "How big of a group?"</p><p>"I have a few candidates in mind, though until I hear their answer, I can't know for certain," he explains. "But it wouldn't be more than three members. Additionally, they'd be exorcists most likely, or at least one of them will. This is not a commentary on your ability to protect them, but rather a desire on my part to help aid you, and help you should an emergency situation arise."</p><p>"And I'm sure the fact that Kokabiel has stolen a bunch of Excaliburs and two of them were last sighted here by our friend Axton doesn't factor into it at all," Azazel comments sarcastically.</p><p>However, Michael is unfazed. "It factors into it quite a lot actually," he replies. "If Axton or Kuoh are being targeted by the people who stole the Excaliburs from us, then it is our responsibility to help him with that situation."</p><p>I really appreciate working with intelligent people, because that sentence has confirmed for me the people he wants to send. Two of them at least, I'm not sure who the third is. "Whatever your reasons, I'd be glad to host some representatives of the church," I say. "Like your orders, I would appreciate a week to prepare for guests, but I can definitely accommodate them. That is, if it's okay with the Devils. I'm a guest in their territory after all." I turn to Serafall.</p><p>"Hmm," Serafall says. "If they're Axton's guests I don't see an issue with it, so long as they don't interfere with things without permission. But the final decision rests with Sona and Rias since they are in control of this territory."</p><p>"I'll talk to them tomorrow morning," I offer. "I don't see it being an issue though. If it is, I'll contact you through Serafall. Otherwise, I'd be glad to host them and you can have them arrive here when you send someone to come pick up the potions you've ordered.</p><p>Michael nods and smiles at me. "Thank you, Axton, for being so accommodating."</p><p>"Not at all," I reply with my own smile. "It's a small thing for a new friend."</p><p>Azazel leans forward. "You know, I was actually thinking something pretty similar myself," he says. "Though with a few key differences. Do you remember the two surviving Fallen that attacked you?"</p><p>"Raynare and Mittelt?" I ask. "What about them?" His eyes glint for a moment, but I'm not sure why.</p><p>"Remember when I said I was working on a gift for you as an apology for that incident?" He waits for me to nod before he continues. "They're the gift. I decided it would be a suitable punishment if I made them work for you for a while. With a place like this, you need maids, right? They can repay you directly for their attack on you and kill two birds with one stone."</p><p>"I see," I say. Hmm. Having them both in maid costumes and forced to listen to me does sound pretty nice. The angry and aggressive Raynare and the goth lolita Mittelt as a maid duo is a pretty fun image. "Can I trust them? I know they were just acting under orders, but Raynare especially might have issues with me, and I'm worried she might take that out on my guests and property."</p><p>"That's why it's taken me so long to offer them to you," he says. "Don't worry, they understand the situation they're in. They failed, so they can't go to Kokabiel, they're on thin ice with me, and they're not well suited for living on their own. They don't have many options." He leans back. "Plus, you can set your own rules and punishments, and I'll leave that in your hands. I'd just ask that you don't do anything to them that can't be undone."</p><p>I roll my eyes. "I'm not an overly cruel man. Anything that would require that level of punishment I'd involve you with." He nods gratefully. "That being said, I assume that they would act as liaisons in this scenario?"</p><p>"You got it," he replies. "They wouldn't report directly to me, but they can get a message to me no problem."</p><p>I'm sure part of his motivation is so they can act as spies as well. Them being given to me as maids confirms it in my mind. Maids are often ignored and can pick up all sorts of information. Still, that's fine. I baited it even with my comment earlier about potentially taking an apprentice. I wanted them to send people to potentially be that apprentice, though, in Azazel's case, I'm sure he'd be happy with them either being made an apprentice or just spying on part of the process. I'm not worried. Without the Game and [Mentor], my skills can't be reproduced.</p><p>"That's fine by me then," I say. "I'll indeed need more people to keep this place running, and they'd be a great help."</p><p>"Fantastic, I'll drop them off in a week then," he says. "Unless you'd like them earlier? To get them settled in before you have your actual guests?"</p><p>"A day to get them working and help to prepare the house would be nice actually," I reply. "Does Thursday at around noon work for you?"</p><p>"It might not be me, but someone will drop them off then," he agrees easily. "Now, if that's all, then I have some things to take care of." He stands up, and everyone else does as well, myself included.</p><p>"Of course," I reply, shaking his hand again. "Thanks for making some time for me."</p><p>"Oh and I'm glad I did," he replies. "It was an interesting experience." He nods at the other two before using the teleportation circle to travel away.</p><p>I turn to Michael, hand extended. "And thanks to you as well. I look forward to working with you more in the future."</p><p>"I as well," he replies with a smile. "And I'm sorry for such a late meeting."</p><p>I shake my head. "It's fine, I don't sleep all that much these days anyway." With a final goodbye to Serafall, he leaves as well.</p><p>With just me and Serafall left in the room, I sit down in a chair and relax, letting out a large sigh. Serafall laughs. "Tired?" she asks me. "Try doing that sort of thing all day every day for centuries."</p><p>"Fuck that," I reply. "I gotta find someone I can trust to handle these sorts of meetings for me."</p><p>"Ah, the Falbium approach," Serafall nods. "You did fine though. Better than fine even. You were aiming for them to send liaisons, right?"</p><p>I frown. "Was I that obvious about it? I thought I was almost <em>too</em> subtle."</p><p>She shakes her head. "No, you weren't obvious. I just know you well enough to know you wouldn't worry about methods of communication, but you would absolutely take the chance to get more girls to seduce." She looks thoughtful. "Actually, Azazel might have noticed, he has a nose for fellow perverts. But Michael definitely didn't. He was too relieved to have a convenient excuse to put his own people in your house."</p><p>"He did make it really easy," I admit.</p><p>"Why though?" she asks. "Not to put your skills into question, especially when I'm depending on them, but even if the Church does send a woman, it won't be an easy task to seduce them."</p><p>I shrug. "That's a gamble I'm willing to take," I say. Though it's not. The fact that part of the reason they're coming is the Excaliburs means Xenovia and Irina are practically guaranteed to be among the group that comes. The third member is likely an older member of the church, someone with some actual authority. And that's fine, so long as Xenovia and Irina come as well.</p><p>Serafall shrugs. "Fair enough. You <em>are</em> going to be putting those moves on Sona first though, right?"</p><p>I roll my eyes. "With any luck, I'll have a deal made with her to arrange a training schedule and a date planned out before they even arrive."</p><p>She nods. "Good. Now come on. I'm busy too, but I'll give you a quick tour."</p><p>I sigh and stand up. "Alright, lead the way. Let's see what we've got. Oh, by the way, the pink hair really suits you."</p><p>"Right?" she excitedly responds. "I really can't thank you enough for providing me with something that can finally change my hair color. You have no idea how long I've been struggling with that." She pauses and tilts her head. "Wait, does it work on my pubic hair too?"</p><p>"No idea, you tell me," I reply, amused.</p><p>"I normally shave so I can't right now," she says. "I guess I'll let it grow out a bit and see."</p><p>I laugh. "When you do, you should send me a picture. You know, for science. Just in case someone else has the same question."</p><p>She shakes her head. "Greedy boy," she chides me. "But okay!"</p><p>We both laugh in good spirits as she leads me down the hallways of my new home. My new home huh? It's weird to think. But it's just another sign that I'm making progress, and it's not going to end with this. I'm just getting started.</p><hr/><p>The forest echoes with the sound of battle as we fight against the dungeon boss. I wasn't sure what to expect from the boss, but so far it's definitely been unlike any boss fight I've done before.</p><p>The Emperor Boar, as [Observe] tells me its title is, is a tanky son of a bitch. His maximum health is five hundred thousand. His attacks are dangerous, but thankfully they're also simple and easy to avoid. Though the smaller boars he summons are very dangerous thanks to their numbers.</p><p>Still, the group is holding up well, and I haven't had to interfere directly. The only thing of note I've done is transport Asia to wounded party members when their wounds prevent them from getting to us quickly. Thankfully, this has only happened twice. Once when a smaller boar snuck up on Kiba and gouged his leg before he dispatched it, and another time when Rias was bowled over and trampled and had some difficulty getting back up.</p><p>Each time I'd pick Asia up, teleport us to the wounded person, apply [Void Beam] to keep us safe while Asia heals the person, and then teleport us back to safety. Most of the time, the wounded came to us to have their minor wounds healed. Their natural HP regen, boosted by my perk, took care of the truly minor ones before they became an issue, but sometimes they would be severe enough to not be healed within seconds and become a nuisance, though not severe enough that they couldn't make their way to us on their own.</p><p>I still don't like seeing my girls wounded like this, but I know I can't coddle them. Getting hurt is a natural part of fighting, and they have to learn to fight, to protect themselves. This is a safe place for them to get hurt. I have Kronika's gem ready to use, along with all of my most powerful potions, my sensu bean, and a few other useful items. I'll use whatever I need to keep them safe.</p><p>Thankfully, it's not needed, because all of them are doing incredibly well. This boss fight is the perfect way to show how much they've grown.</p><p>Rias swaps between clearing the small mobs and chipping away at the boss using her Power of Destruction. I've taught her all five attacks that I had originally envisioned, and she's making use of them well. The fourth one is Destruction Missile. Where Gatling focuses on speed and Scattershot focuses on number and area, Missile is a supercharged version of Rifle that moves slower but is much bigger, hits harder, and even tracks the target somewhat.</p><p>The fifth technique is Destruction Beam, and it's the only one that isn't a variant of the Destruction Rifle. It's essentially a copy of my [Void Beam] but made with the Power of Destruction. It hits fast, and it hits hard, and most importantly, it has penetrating power. It's not as good as my [Void Beam] though. Is Void more powerful than Destruction? Or is it just because of the difference in magic power? I can't be sure without more data.</p><p>She's using the Destruction Beams to clear the smaller boars and then peppering the boss boar with Scattershots and Missiles depending on how close she is. She's easily doing the second most damage to the boss and is primarily focusing on it.</p><p>Akeno is doing something similar, but opposite. She's using her magic to damage both the boss and the smaller boars, but most of her focus is on the smaller boars. She's doing an incredible job switching things up, throwing every element at the enemies to see what works best. They all work equally well, as far as I can tell they don't have any particular elemental weakness or resistance, but she does a good job selecting her spells based on how many she's attacking at a time, and making sure to do as much damage to as many enemies at a time.</p><p>She holds Azal's staff in her hand, boosting her strength considerably. It's a good thing she's being so strategic with her spells because each one costs her a lot of mana.</p><p>Kiba started out the battle similar to Akeno in that he cycled through a bunch of elemental swords to probe the boars for any weaknesses, but didn't find any. So he made a new sword, one that very much looked like a cleaver and it tore through the smaller boars without issue. In his other hand, he held a short and stubby sword that looked more like a hunk of unworked metal than a sword. But every time he stabbed it into the ground, the very earth moved.</p><p>He's using both to great effect. He zips around the battlefield, cutting through the smaller boars to reduce their numbers, stopping only to use his other sword to shift the ground to trip or pen in the boss boar, aiding his teammates who are attacking it directly. It's creativity he didn't have before, and his sword skills are sharper and more efficient.</p><p>Koneko is attacking the boss directly. Her attacks don't do much to the massive creature, but her strength rivals it, despite their size difference. She burns through her stamina, empowering herself with Touki to stop the boar in place or divert it. A couple of times she's worked together with Kiba to unbalance it and knock it over, though it gets harder to do that as the boar learns their tricks. She's probably the biggest reason the boss boar has barely been able to damage us.</p><p>Though Aika is definitely the second biggest reason why. She still hasn't learned any offensive spells beyond the Dark Missile, but she uses the one she has to its greatest effectiveness, targeting the eyes of not only the boss boar but the smaller ones all around as well. A huge number of shadowy blasts shoot from her staff every minute, and almost all of them hit their target. The missiles themselves don't do much damage against the hide of the boars, but against their eyes it not only does moderate damage but blinds them as well. Any that Aika blinds are easily dispatched by Kiba shortly after and the boss has barely been able to see at all since the battle began.</p><p>Asia is helping a little bit by throwing in a few barriers here and there and using the plant life to trip up the boars, but they're too strong for it to be very effective, and they break through both. She is keeping herself busy by healing though, and I've even let her dispatch a few boars that get close to us with her light sword. She grimaces whenever she does so, but it's always replaced by a look of determination, so I keep letting a few through for her.</p><p>Finally, there's the star of the show, Atsuko. I told her to go all out in fighting the boss, and she took it to heart. Right now, she can maintain eight boosts nearly indefinitely, depending on her level of activity. Nine boosts drain her in just over a minute, even without any exertion on her part. We tried ten boosts, and she was able to reach it, but at that point, her stamina drains too fast. Even with the use of stamina potions, it's not realistic for battle.</p><p>But at eight boosts, the occasional stamina potion, and a Knight promotion, she has done by far the most damage to the boss. Her ax has torn its hide to shreds as she zips around it. Her flying is still too poor to handle the kind of maneuverability she needs for a fight like this, but plain old running enhanced by her new grapple hook does a good enough job.</p><p>It's extremely impressive to watch. Her DEX is higher than mine, and it's honestly difficult to keep track of her. She uses her speed and her grapple hook to launch herself at the boar, ax flashing out and cutting deep into its hide, causing it to roar out in pain with each strike. I'm glad we spent all of yesterday practicing how to move with it because this fight would be going much slower without it.</p><p>Speaking of how long this fight is going. I check the boss's health and see that it's just below 25%.</p><p>"Atsuko!" I yell, making sure she can hear me with [Sound Domain]. "It's time! Go all out for one big attack!"</p><p>"Got it!" she says. "Kiba, Koneko, hold it still!" Her two peerage members nod and start to work as I hear Atsuko boost again. She grapples her way into position and takes another stamina potion off of her belt, and gets ready to drink it. As Koneko and Kiba corral the boss into position to flip it over again, Atsuko boosts four more times, up to her maximum of twelve. Her eleventh boost is almost long enough to drain her stamina, and I can see her shaking, but she timed things perfectly. She drinks the stamina potion right as her gauntlet declares her next boost, topping her off, and then a second later it calls out again.</p><p>"<em><strong>EXPLOSION!</strong></em>"</p><p>I watch as Atsuko's already ridiculous stats double, far eclipsing anything I've seen. Her lowest stat is just under seven thousand, and her highest, her DEX, is over fourteen thousand.</p><p>Right on time, a slab of earth juts out of the ground right beneath the hoof of the boar, lifting it partially up. Koneko dashes in, aura shimmering around her body, and leaps upwards into it, fist extended. For a moment it teeters, and I fear it won't be enough, and then a barrage of Dark Missiles from Aika slams into it, and causes it to tip over onto its back.</p><p>Atsuko, her stamina already half empty, doesn't hesitate. As soon as it's still she rushes forward with a wordless yell, ax brandished. She reaches the boar in less than a blink of an eye and swings.</p><p>I don't think any of us expected what happens then. There's a sound of rushing air and shrieking metal, and then everything explodes. The boar is completely bisected as a sharp wave of force travels beyond the reach of the ax that Atsuko swung, and so is half of the forest behind it. The air is whipped into a frenzy and for what feels like minutes but is only seconds, the sound of crashing trees echo as they fall to the ground, their trunks obliterated.</p><p>We all stand still in shock as a huge swath of dense forest turns into a mess of fallen trees and dirt. It's only Atsuko collapsing that snaps us out of it. We all rush towards her, but it's Asia and I that arrive first as I [Void Travel] the both of us to her.</p><p>[Observe] tells me what I already suspect, that her stamina is just drained. She's still conscious even. She's missing some HP as well, but not enough to make me worried.</p><p>Asia, who is working on healing her already, confirms it. "She's fine," Asia says as the others approach us. "She just exhausted herself, though she did have some signs of muscle damage and aggravated ligaments. But I'm taking care of those now."</p><p>I sigh in relief, and I'm not the only one. "Holy shit Atsuko," I say to her with a grin on my face. "I know I said to go all out, but that was insane."</p><p>She smiles tiredly. "Hehe," she laughs. "I haven't used that explosion thing since that first time. I wanted to see what I could do now."</p><p>"<em>Truly it was a splendid blow</em>," comes another voice, deep and tinny. I blink, and I feel everyone's shock as they look down at the gauntlet form of the Boosted Gear, whose gem just lit up with the words that were spoken.</p><p>"Ddraig?" I ask.</p><p>"<em>Yes, it is I, the Red Dragon Emperor,</em>" he calls out with more energy. "<em>That magnificent attack managed to fully awaken me from my slumber. Truly, I seem to have found myself an excellent host this time.</em>"</p><p>Atsuko smiles tiredly. "Hell yeah you did, I'm the best host ever…" she trails off and falls unconscious. I guess even with equipment restoring her stamina and Asia healing her wounds, it's hard to ignore a body saying that you pushed it too hard and it needs to rest.</p><p>"<em>Hmm, she is still young and inexperienced though</em>," Ddraig says. "<em>And this is the first time I've had a Devil as a partner. No matter. I shall rest now as well.</em>" And just like that, the gem goes dark, and then the Boosted Gear itself dematerializes.</p><p>As a group, we stare at the now sleeping Atsuko, a little stunned. "Well, that happened," I comment.</p><p>"I didn't realize she was already attuned with her Sacred Gear that much," Rias comments.</p><p>"She mentioned the other day she had seen him in her dreams," I admit. "But I did expect it to be a bit longer before he started talking. But that move she pulled off just now...Yeah, I'm not that surprised it woke him up."</p><p>"Yeah…" Rias agrees as she looks at the destruction her attack caused. It didn't clear the trees out, but it did turn it from a nice forest to a tangle of wood and dirt.</p><p>I hear Koneko suck in her breath. "Her weapon," she says, and I look down at Atsuko's other hand, where she still grips her ax. Or what remains of it anyways. It's <em>almost</em> in one piece. The majority of it is still attached to the handle. But the head of the ax is splintered, and the entire thing is warped and cracked beyond repair.</p><p>"So that's what that sound was," I comment. "That's a shame, but it's fine. I'll get her a new weapon before the rating game. I'll see if I can get a sturdier one." Though where I'm going to get something like that, I have no idea. I have an enchantment for repairing weapons, but none that make it more durable.</p><p>I pick up Atsuko's unconscious form and turn to the group. "It's a little early, but I think we can call it there for Dungeon training and go get an early lunch."</p><p>"Are you sure?" Akeno asks.</p><p>I use [Observe] on everyone, noting their levels.</p><p><strong>Rias Gremory<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 194[50%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 8,790 (5,538 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 10,470 (314 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 8,400 (252 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 293<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 280<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 273<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 349<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 337<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 389<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 558</strong></p><p><strong>Akeno Himejima<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 181[81%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Half-Fallen)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 8,850 (5,576 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 12,360 (371 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 8,670 (260 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 295<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 289<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 297<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 412<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 405<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 224<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 205</strong></p><p><strong>Koneko Toujou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 165[9%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil(Nekoshou)<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 14,640 (9,223 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 4,350 (131 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 14,670 (440 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 488<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 489<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 275<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 145<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 160<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 162<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 123</strong></p><p><strong>Yuuto Kiba<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 163[12%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 8,370 (5,273 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 4,110 (123 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 11,250 (338 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 279<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 375<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 548<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 137<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 122<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 173<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 111</strong></p><p><strong>Atsuko Hyoudou<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 155[34%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 9,180 (5783 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 8,940 (268 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 9,456 (5965 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 306<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 307<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 304<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 298<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 299<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 349<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 324</strong></p><p><strong>Aika Kiryuu<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 155[25%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Reincarnated Devil<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 8,700 (5,481 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 17,250 (647 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 4,860 (146 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 290<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 162<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 163<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 575<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 575<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 164<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 164</strong></p><p>"Yeah," I say, grinning. "I think we've gotten everything we need out of here." The quest didn't mark itself as complete, but I'm guessing that's because the Rating Game isn't actually here yet. That's fine.</p><p>As I bring us out of the dungeon, I idly look over the loot and notice a few interesting things.</p><p>
  <strong>Emperor Boar Hide x10<br/>Hide made of tough fur. Highly resistant to physical and magical damage.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Gacha Token x5</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Special Dungeon Key</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Hate Crystal<br/>The opposite of a Heart Crystal. Use to lower a target's Affection by 25. Can't lower a target's Affection below -100. Only affects targets below 50 Affection.</strong>
</p><p>That last one is certainly interesting. My gut reaction is that it's trash but...no. This has potential. If I play my cards right, this might be exactly what I need to secure my plans. The hide, the gacha tokens, and the second Special Dungeon Key are also nice.</p><p>I set Atsuko down in a chair outside of the lodge house and start pulling out sandwiches. "Just because we've finished up in the dungeon doesn't mean we're done for the day though! After lunch, we'll have one last session of individual training, and we still have a strategy session and good old-fashioned working out after that. Tomorrow is your rest day, not today."</p><p>There are determined nods from everyone before they all rush towards the sandwiches, the pile disappearing in moments.</p><p>Just a bit of training left, and then the Rating Game will be here. I shake my head. I can't let myself get distracted by what's to come. There's still plenty to take care of before then.</p><hr/><p>Once again I teleport in behind Kuroka as she spies on us, but this time she just tenses up instead of reacting more violently.</p><p>"I really wish you wouldn't do that," Kuroka complains as she turns to face me with a glare.</p><p>I pull out a plate of curry. "Even if I bring food? I just finished making it, haven't even served the others yet."</p><p>She glares at me for a moment, but I see her nose twitch. "Fine," she accedes and grabs the plate from me. "I guess I can forgive you."</p><p>I chuckle as she eats. "I just wanted to thank you for the Senjutsu tips you gave me. I know it was simple, but it really helped with Koneko's training today."</p><p>"I saw," Kuroka comments, handing me back the already empty plate. "I had to observe from a little further away while you two were meditating and working on her Touki so she wouldn't sense me."</p><p>"We were also working on mine," I claim. She raises an eyebrow at me. "Or trying to at least. I know a few techniques that use life force, but it looks like proper Senjutsu is still out of my reach."</p><p>She shakes her head. "Unless you've focused heavily on your physical abilities and some sort of martial arts, most races find it very difficult to use any form of Senjutsu, much less Touki."</p><p>"But not Nekoshou, right?" I ask. "That's what Koneko said when we talked about it just earlier."</p><p>"Just look at Shirone," Kuroka says. "Basically no training and her Touki increases her speed and strength by what...at least twice?"</p><p>"Right around that yeah," I reply. "Well, that's fine. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to manage it."</p><p>She shoots me a weird look but then looks away with a shrug. "You're welcome to keep trying I suppose. I honestly have no idea how hard it might be for you."</p><p>It shouldn't be hard at all if I can convince Koneko to help me, but I'll worry about that later. "Besides giving you some food and a thank you, I wanted to make sure to let you know that today was our last day of training. Tomorrow we'll be back at Kuoh to rest for a day, and then Monday will be the Rating Game. I don't know if you have a way to view the Rating games, but if you do, that's when it'll happen."</p><p>"I don't, but it's easy enough to get a recording afterward. Even non-official games are recorded and stored somewhere I <em>can</em> access." She explains.</p><p>"Look forward to that then," I say. "The Peerage they're going up against doesn't stand a chance against them after this training. Koneko might not be the star of the show, but with the plans we have, she'll have a chance to show off."</p><p>"Mmm, good," she replies, tail swishing. "If she's strong and happy, that's enough for me." She gives me a sideways look. "Speaking of happy, don't think I didn't notice how close the two of you were while meditating."</p><p>I smile. Koneko had insisted on sitting in my lap while meditating, claiming it helped her focus better. To her credit, it didn't make her meditation worse, though I'm not sure if it actually helped.</p><p>"Ever since our talk she's been a lot more touchy-feely," I explain. "Which I'm happy to accept. She's cute, and she's a good girl."</p><p>"Ahh, my poor Shirone has been seduced by such a bad man," she teases. "At this rate, she's going to end up having kittens before I do."</p><p>"I have brought you dinner twice now," I reply with a grin. "I'm ready for the chance to 'get rough' with you any time now."</p><p>Kuroka laughs. "No, I think I'll let Shirone have the first go." She looks up at the sky and sees the setting sun. "Besides, I don't have time to play around right now. I'll see you around sometime Axton. Just remember, if Shirone isn't happy when I do see you, I'll make sure you're not happy either." She winks at me, her threat completely at odds with her tone of voice.</p><p>But I don't drop my smile. "Of course," I say. "I'll see you later, try not to be too jealous of your younger sister."</p><p>She ignores that last sentence and disappears with a magic circle. I look at my phone to check the time. Two minutes until the dessert I prepared in celebration for tonight is done baking. With a nod, I teleport back to the kitchen.</p><hr/><p>The final strategy meeting of our training camp is basically just a refresher where we once again go over all of the information on Riser and his Peerage and the multiple plans we have to deal with him.</p><p>It's pretty boring, but most of us are paying close attention, not wanting to screw up things right at the end. However, there are two notable exceptions. The first is Atsuko, still a little worn out from the Dungeon. Her brow is furrowed, but her eyes slowly grow more glazed throughout the meeting as she struggles to take in all the information at once.</p><p>The other exception is Koneko, who has once again claimed my lap, but this time she's fallen asleep. Rias pauses when she notices, but just shakes her head and continues, ignoring the sleeping girl. I don't do anything about it either though, and instead continue to make it look like I'm paying attention to Rias, though my mind is busy planning the things I need to take care of later.</p><p>At the end of the meeting, I speak up. "Alright guys, I know it's late, and I know you're all probably tired, but we have one last push before training is over. So let's give it our all for our last bit of training, okay?"</p><p>Everyone agrees and heads back out to start their strength training. Everyone except Rias and Koneko. Rias and I look down at the still sleeping Koneko and then look at each other.</p><p>"Honestly, I expected her to wake up when I started talking," I admit.</p><p>Rias shakes her head. "When Koneko naps she can sleep through anything," she explains. "Was her individual training hard today?"</p><p>"Maybe?" I reply with a small shrug. "We mostly worked on her Senjutsu, so it wasn't very physical, but it definitely used up a lot of stamina." I sigh. "You go ahead and start your training. I'll wake her up and see if she's up to more training. I know what I just said earlier, but it'll be fine if she misses this last bit, especially if she's too tired. Though she might just be taking a nap because she felt like it."</p><p>Rias nods. "Alright, I'll leave it to you. I'll see you later for the massage then."</p><p>I nod, and Rias leaves, leaving just me and Koneko in the room. Wilhelm is still back at my new mansion, getting things prepared there. I had to purchase a cell phone for him to use and explain how to use it, but he's smart and he picked it up pretty quickly.</p><p>Kuroka's words earlier are still present in my mind, and they make me wonder if maybe Koneko is ready to take another step forward. So, after confirming that no one's nearby with [Void Detect], I don't wake up Koneko. Instead, I shift into a more comfortable position and start using my lewd skills.</p><p>I go ahead and use [Erotic Dreams], unsure if it'll work on a nap. I don't detect any immediate difference, and even after a few moments nothing changes, but I don't know if that means anything. I then use [Erotic Pierrot] to very slowly increase her arousal as I pat her on the head, focusing on the base of her soft ears.</p><p>I patiently do this for several minutes, slowly increasing her arousal. She starts fidgeting in my lap, still asleep, but moving. And her movement set off a reaction of my own, my pants stiffening as her rear grinds against my dick. I ignore that though and just keep petting her.</p><p>Eventually, she stirs more, and she stretches as she wakes up, her back arching and her arms thrust upwards. She looks around, confused. "Everyone else left?"</p><p>"A few minutes ago," I said as I continue to pet her. "We finished up the strategy meeting and they've started their training."</p><p>"Mmm," she replies, leaning back against me, clearly having no intention of getting up soon. As she shifts though, she pauses. She rotates her hips a little, and it's clear that she just now noticed the thing poking into her from below. "Pervert," she chides me. But she doesn't move.</p><p>I stop petting her and instead wrap my arms around her. "I am, a bit," I admit. "Do you hate that part of me?"</p><p>She doesn't respond immediately, and I can see her cheeks blush slightly. She shakes her head. "It's okay. You're...private, about it. Don't bother others."</p><p>"I try not to," I agree. "Though when a girl as cute as you fidgets around on my lap, this happens. I can't really control that."</p><p>Her cheeks redden some more. "I did this?" she asks, her voice quieter, and she fidgets some more.</p><p>"You did," I confirm. "I hope you don't mind. I like it when you sit on my lap, and I wouldn't want to drive you away."</p><p>She shakes her head again. "It's fine." She's quiet for a moment, but then suddenly she shifts in my lap, forcing me to spread my arms as she turns around to straddle my lap instead of sitting with her back to me. I look down at her, still dressed in her workout gear of a simple t-shirt and compression shorts, face slightly red and tail swishing.</p><p>"Do perverted things make you happy?" she asks nervously.</p><p>"They do," I answer. "And they make my girls happy too."</p><p>"...do you want to do those things with me too?" she asks after a moment. I can feel the nervousness, determination, and arousal all battling inside of her.</p><p>I smile at her. "Very much, but only if you want to."</p><p>
  <strong>+9 Affection with Koneko Toujou</strong>
</p><p>In place of a reply, she simply leans towards me, wraps her arms around my neck, and brings her lips to mine. My hands go to her waist as I kiss her. Her small and soft lips press against mine in a deep kiss and she presses herself against my chest.</p><p>After a few heartbeats, she pulls back, breaking contact. "I do. A little."</p><p>"Whatever you want to do, we can," I say. "I'm not in a rush, just do what feels right to you."</p><p>She nods and then kisses me again, this time her mouth is open and her tongue slips into my mouth. I don't hesitate to pull her closer to me, my erection pressing up against her crotch, and meet her tongue with my own. I feel her hands reach up into my hair, her fingers getting tangled, and every time our lips break contact momentarily so we can take a breath, she lets out this adorable little noise. It's like a cross between a meow and a moan, and it makes me want her more.</p><p>But as nice as things are progressing, that isn't in the cards for tonight. She eventually pulls back more, breathing slightly heavily, her face flushed. I can tell her arousal is higher than ever, but there's nervousness there too. A lot of it.</p><p>"Why don't we stop there for right now?" I suggest. "Like I said, there's no rush. We can pick back up again at any time."</p><p>She looks unsure, her desire and nervousness fighting against each other, but eventually, she nods, her shoulders slumping slightly.</p><p>"The others are still doing their strength training, if you want to join them and take your mind off of things," I suggest. "These feelings can be a bit overwhelming if you're not used to them."</p><p>She nods gratefully and climbs off of my lap. She starts to leave, hesitates, then gives me a kiss on the cheek before she runs off and out of the lodge.</p><p>As much as I would have liked to keep playing with Koneko, I do have some work to get done. With a sigh, I use [Dungeon Traversal] to enter the normal Forest dungeon.</p><p>Just like I hoped, I find a new face waiting for me in the safe room, though the shape it comes in does catch me off guard. Instead of a person, I spot a tall mushroom with a face reminiscent of an old woman. If the Zombie dungeon had the Merchant from Resident Evil 4, then this is probably another video game merchant. With that train of thought, it only takes me a moment to place her as Elizabeth from the Dark Souls DLC. [Observe] confirms it.</p><p>
  <strong>Elizabeth<br/>Race: Dungeon Vendor<br/>?</strong>
</p><p>"Greetings traveler," she says as I approach her. "Was it you who slew the terrible Guardian of this place and freed us? You have our deepest gratitude."</p><p>"It was no problem at all," I reply, mentally mashing the A button in my head in an attempt to skip past the dialogue.</p><p>"As a sign of my gratitude, I'd like to offer you my services," she continues. "I have many things for sale, and I'll offer a fair price for goods of your own."</p><p>Oh good, she's not too talkative. "I would appreciate that," I say, and the Vendor window appears in front of me.</p><p>Unlike the Mailman's shop, I can sell pretty much anything in my inventory to her for Hunie. So I take the chance to dump all of my useless dungeon drops and other items I'll never use. Though some of the more esoteric items, like the Deck of Many Things, I can't sell to her. In fact, anything I got from the Gacha isn't sellable. Annoying, but understandable.</p><p>Still, I clean up my inventory and then open the buy menu. Just like I had hoped, since this dungeon is a tier above the Zombie dungeon, I can buy both Minor and Moderate Catalysts, and I can buy more of the Minor ones than I can from the other dungeon. I don't have enough Hunie for it though, so I sell more ingredients and less useful items until I do.</p><p>I exit the dungeon with a less cluttered inventory, 500 Minor Catalysts, and 300 Moderate Catalysts. I don't hesitate to merge those into higher-tier catalysts, winding up with 52 more Ultimate Catalysts, which brings my total up to 68. One short of what I needed to make what I have planned for Rias and her Peerage, and many short once I add my own equipment</p><p>I glance at the time. I only have about an hour and a half before they finish up their strength training, I can grind some more enchanting catalysts in that time. With a sigh, I enter the Hardmode Forest dungeon. I can do the fastest farming here.</p><p>[Void Beam] slices through the air as I speed into the forest. So little time, and so much to do. It's a good thing I don't need sleep.</p><hr/><p>Of all the girls I regularly make out with, none of them enjoy it as much as Asia seems to. Though right now, it's hard to tell how much of her enjoyment is from the kissing and how much is from the rest of it.</p><p>She currently is supported only by her bare back against the wall and my hands on her ass, holding her up. Her legs are wrapped around my back, keeping me close enough that I can only pull back a few inches before I thrust back into her. Her arms are wrapped around my neck, more holding herself close to me rather than supporting herself.</p><p>She moans into my mouth every time I thrust into her tight passage. Even after having sex a few times, I still can't fit all the way into her, and I probably never will, but that's fine. Her tightness is incredible, and her lips are sweet, and her skin feels so good under my hands.</p><p>Our lips break. "Axton!" she cries out. "I'm almost there!"</p><p>In response I speed up my thrusts, pushing deep into her, the head of my dick kissing the entrance to her womb as I pound her into the wall. She lets out a cry and cums, convulsing around me.</p><p>"Oh God!" she cries out as she climaxes. "God it feels so good!"</p><p>It only takes a few more thrusts for me to cum as well, and grunt as I thrust deep into her, depositing every drop of my semen straight into her womb.</p><p>We both pause a moment, resting as we come down from our climaxes. Though we don't change positions, and I remain hard, still deep inside of her.</p><p>"I think that feels better each time we do it," she says, face flushed but smiling.</p><p>"That's you getting more used to it," I reply. "And us trying new positions."</p><p>She nods. "We'll have to keep practicing then," she says eagerly, and I laugh.</p><p>"As much as you like," I agree. "I'm not sure if we'll have more or less free time after today though. Now that training is done, we'll be going back to school soon."</p><p>She perks up at that. "Oh, I can't wait! That will be Tuesday, right?"</p><p>"So long as something doesn't happen during the Rating Game that delays things," I say. I pause. "I hate to cut this short, but Akeno is on her way now. We should probably get cleaned up."</p><p>She nods. "Okay." I give her one last kiss before I step back. We carefully untangle from each other, and we both shudder as I pull out of Asia. By the time Akeno arrives, both of us are dressed again and Asia is walking out of the door, waving goodbye.</p><p>Akeno walks in just a few seconds after she leaves. [Empathy] is picking up a lot of activity from her, more than normal. Arousal, determination, and nervousness all at once. She closes the door behind her and drops her towel, exposing herself. Like always, I take a moment to appreciate the sight of her nude body.</p><p>"No massage today," she says, tone authoritative. "There's something I want to do today. Lay down on the table, face up."</p><p>This promises to be interesting. "Sure thing," I agree easily. I stash my clothes in my inventory and lay down. My dick is still hard from my fun with Asia, and it stands at attention now. Akeno climbs onto the table over me, starting from my feet and dragging herself along my penis as she pulls herself level with me.</p><p>She lowers herself on me, and I feel every hot inch of where our skin touches, from her boobs that are pressing into my chest, to her flat and toned belly pressing into my own, and the way my erection rests on her already wet pussy. She moves her lower body slightly, stimulating both of us.</p><p>"You know, I had a dream last night," she starts, voice husky.</p><p>"Was it the fun kind of dream?" I ask like I don't already know.</p><p>"It was," she confirms. "In fact, I've been having those kinds of dreams during the entire training camp. Which is entirely your fault by the way. All of those massages and fun we have right before bed is corrupting me."</p><p>"You're welcome," I say with a grin, and she chuckles.</p><p>"The dream I had last night was a little different though," she continues. "Before they were pretty much just us doing the same things we did in here, maybe a little different here and there. But last night, the dream went a little further."</p><p>"How much further?" I ask, curious.</p><p>"You didn't stop at just teasing in my dream," she replies. Her movements are getting more pronounced, and her arousal is increasing. "In my dream, we didn't just grind like this. You shoved your dick in me and filled me up."</p><p>"And what do you think of that, outside of the dream?" I ask.</p><p>"I think," she says as she sits up, lifting herself off of me but offering me an excellent view of her body. "I think I don't want it to be just a dream," she finishes. Then, with a quick movement, she grabs hold of my dick, lifts up her hips, lines herself up, and then drops down on my dick, taking in the entirety of my dick in a single motion.</p><p>She lets out a loud cry, a mix of pain and pleasure. Even for a Devil, it's a lot to take in with such little preparation. But I'm too distracted by the sensation to think much on it. Akeno's insides are warm and inviting, and I can feel every clench and twitch of her walls around me. A groan escapes my lips, barely audible to even my own ears.</p><p>"Fuck, Akeno," I say, voice tight from the sudden pleasure.</p><p>She's breathing hard, chest heaving. "That is...my intention…" she says between breaths. She takes a deep breath and then lifts herself a few inches up before dropping down again. She lets out another noise of pleasure, and I enjoy the way her tits bounce with the movement.</p><p>"How does the real thing feel, compared to your dream?" I ask her.</p><p>"It's so much <em>more</em>," she replies, slowly repeating her movement. "The dream can't compare to this intensity."</p><p>Good to know. I would be annoyed if [Erotic Dream] was just as good as having sex with me. So long as it gets them interested, then that's enough. As she lowers herself again, I thrust upwards to meet her. Her moan is decidedly higher pitched this time, and she looks at me in surprise.</p><p>"You'll need to move faster than that if you want to <em>really</em> feel what it's like," I say.</p><p>Her expression grows determined, and she starts speeding up. Before, each bounce was slow and deliberate, but now she's starting to find a rhythm as her pace increases. Her massive tits bouncing in front of my eyes are too alluring to pass up, and my hands reach up to start groping them. She moans even louder in response, and her insides writhe as she cums.</p><p>The sensation pushes me over the edge, and I cum as well, painting her walls white. She flops down on top of me again, sweaty and breathing hard, but a strong feeling of arousal and joy coming from her.</p><p>
  <strong>+9 Affection with Akeno Himejima</strong>
</p><p>"We finally did it," I say after a moment. "That was a lot of foreplay that led to this moment. But I guess it just made it all the more satisfying."</p><p>"Why are you talking in the past tense?" she asks as she raises herself up enough to look at me. "After all this, you think just one round is enough?" My dick twitches in response, and she smiles widely and starts moving again.</p><p>She wrings two more creampies out of me and three more orgasms for herself before I sense Koneko approaching and she agrees to stop for the night. She leaves me laying on the table, out of breath and still erect, covered in her sweat and juices, as she strolls out the door naked.</p><p>I only have a moment to catch my breath, use [Clean Body] on myself, and then get dressed before Koneko arrives. Her face instantly goes red and her arousal spikes as she enters the room and smells the room. Considering the fact that Rias and Kiba are the only two people I've massaged and not had sex with, the smell of sex is strong enough for it to be heavy even with my sense of smell.</p><p>"Pervert," she says, but there's no bite to it, and she instantly starts stripping, not waiting for me to turn around.</p><p>I smile in response. "Guilty as charged," I agree. Considering her actions, I don't look away from her as she strips. She blushes even deeper but doesn't stop, stripping all of her clothes, even stepping out of her panties and putting them on the pile. I smile wider. "Go ahead and lay down and we'll get started."</p><p>She nods and lays down, and I do as I said I would and start massaging her. Of course, I use [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity], but otherwise I stick to the actual massage. Her muscles are sorer than anyone else's besides Kiba and maybe Atsuko, the three of them being the melee-focused ones.</p><p>"Is this the last one?" she asks.</p><p>"The last massage?" I ask. "It's the last one tonight if that's what you're asking." She shakes her head. "Then the last one I'll give you?" She nods. "It's the last one in this room probably, but I'll give you a massage whenever you want one," I say. "I enjoy it almost as much as you do."</p><p>I can feel a surge of relief come from her, but the conversation dies there. After a few more moments, I decide that this is the best time to bring something up I've been waiting to ask for a while now. Or rather, it's my last chance if I want to do it in time for what I have planned.</p><p>"Koneko," I start. "I actually have a favor to ask. A sort of weird one actually." She moves her head slightly so she can look at me out of the corner of her eye, a questioning look on her face. "Can I have a sample of your fur?"</p><p>She pauses, and [Empathy] picks up a jumble of emotions, and I'd be worried if they weren't so muted. As it is, it seems she's mostly just confused. "Why?" she asks.</p><p>"Senjutsu," I answer simply. "I think I can use a potion made with a bit of your fur to help me learn how to use it." If I could replace my dependence on [Void Blood] with Touki, and increase my stats without locking off my Void skills, it would be a massive boost to my combat power. I'm not suited for spell-slinging, but the Void skills I have complement my fast-paced fighting style extremely well. Half of them are more utility or movement-based anyways. Not to mention all the other Senjutsu techniques that it would unlock. I can possibly skip over the Ninja class, which I've had my eye on, by just unlocking Senjutsu this way and learning those techniques.</p><p>That same jumble of emotions, but a bit less chaotic this time. "How?"</p><p>Hmm. I think I can trust her with a more detailed explanation. Her Affection is above 90, and Koneko is a quiet girl who won't go spreading my plans in the short time left before I implement them.</p><p>"By becoming part Nekoshou," I reply, and she tenses slightly. "Not fully. Probably it'll be less than a quarter, but I'm very willing to bet that that'll be enough." I continue massaging her, moving down to her legs. "I know this might be a lot to ask you, considering everything about your past, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."</p><p>She doesn't respond for a good while, and I can feel her emotions shifting as she thinks about things. I finish her massage, and she sits up to face me.</p><p>"Okay," she replies. "But I want something."</p><p>"Anything within my power, I'd do, even if you were just asking and not offering your fur," I agree.</p><p>"I want cookies," she starts. "And more baking lessons."</p><p>"Done and done," I reply. "I have plans tomorrow, but I just got a new place and I'm told the kitchen is very nice. We can make a whole bunch of cookies soon."</p><p>She nods. "One more thing," she says, blushing. "I want a special massage." She reaches up and lays her hands on her small breasts. "Here," she specifies.</p><p>I smile and lean down to kiss her on the lips. "I'd be happy to do that."</p><p>She relaxes a lot as I kiss her, and I can feel her anxiety leave her as I pull back. She looks up at me. "Knife?"</p><p>I hand over my Hestia Knife, and she moves her tail to her lap. I try not to get distracted by her bare legs and where they meet. This is important. "How much?" she asks.</p><p>"Just a pinch will be enough," I say. "A handful of short strands." She nods, and carefully uses the knife to cut off a few of the hairs from the tip of her tail. I pull a vial out of my inventory and hold it out for her to drop them in, and I take back the knife from her. Both go back into my inventory.</p><p>I lean down and kiss her again, this time slipping a bit of tongue into her mouth. Her hands press against my chest, clutching at my shirt. After a moment, I pull back, and a thin strand of saliva connects our mouths for an instant before it breaks. "Thank you," I tell her. "I promise you won't regret it."</p><p>She nods, fully believing me. "Now, turn around," I say. "This sort of massage is best done from behind." she blushes but does as I say.</p><p>I increase the effects of both [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] as I reach around her and place my hands on her chest. My hands are still covered in a small amount of massage oil, and I make my first goal to rub in as much of that into her tits as I can.</p><p>Her back arches, pushing into my chest, and she lets out a small noise of pleasure. I take my time, rubbing every inch of the soft and inviting flesh of her tits. I run my fingers in a circle, tracing the edge of her areola, and she shivers.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she says. "They're small."</p><p>I lean down and kiss the back of her neck. "Don't apologize for that," I tell her as I cup her breasts, holding the entirety of them in their hand. "Whatever their size, I love them. Besides, I've heard small breasts are more sensitive." I increase the effects of the erotic skills as I say that and then I run my fingers up her tits, catching her erect nipples.</p><p>She lets out an adorable moan of pleasure. She turns to face me, face red and eyes hungry, and I kiss her. We make out deeper than we have before while I continue to play with her breasts, splitting my time between massaging the sensitive skin and lightly tweaking her nipples.</p><p>Her hands reach up and cling to my arms, nails digging into my skin, but not drawing blood. She's squirming now, and her tail is swishing frantically between us. My own erection throbs, and it's all I can do to not take things further.</p><p>I'm only vaguely aware of it when one of her hands drops from my arm and down to her lap, but I definitely notice when her arousal spikes and she moans into my mouth as she starts touching herself, her legs spread slightly.</p><p>It only takes a few seconds for her lips to part from mine so she can moan loudly as she cums. Her body twitches under my hands and her wail fills the room as her climax washes over her. As her orgasm finishes, she slumps backward leaning on me and breathing heavily.</p><p>"I think I'm a pervert too," she admits as she catches her breath.</p><p>I kiss her on top of her head, between her cat ears. "And that's perfectly okay," I assure her. I check her with [Lewd Scouter].</p><p><strong>Koneko Toujou<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderate<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 92<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Voyeurism, Smell, Breast play</strong></p><p>She's gained a few new fetishes I see. And her perversion has gone up.</p><p>"Axton," she says, turning around again. "I love you."</p><p>I smile at her. "I love you too Koneko." She smiles back and hugs me. Asia, Akeno, and Koneko. Those are the girls I managed to seduce during this trip. Rias is close as well, and Atsuko and Aika were already mine. Yeah, this training camp was totally worth it.</p><hr/><p>Late at night and in my bedroom, I look down at my Omni-Ring, now filled with the Ultimate tier of nearly every enchantment I could put in it. Which is a lot.</p><p>My HP, MP, and SP now regenerate at an actually insane rate. Each of my stats are increased by a flat 100. I can see through illusions, my damage is increased when my health is low, I can tell when someone is lying, I get mana back equal to the amount of damage done to me, I receive fifty percent less damage, I receive even less Light, Dark, and Fire damage, I can't lose the ring, the ring repairs itself, I can now see even in pitch black conditions, and I can fly. That last one is especially exciting, and it's crucial for the upcoming fight.</p><p>Though I did discover that items in the Omni-Ring don't stack. And in fact, I can't stack enchantments at all. I can't place two of the same one on one item, and wearing two items with the same enchantment only applies the stronger one, or else my LUK would be boosted by 110, instead of 100.</p><p>I take a look at my stats, and the perk I got earlier for reaching 1000 STR.</p><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 287<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Hollow Knight(87/100)[4%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 12,660 (464 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 51,760 (2,933 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 33,120 (1,546 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 633(733)<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 1004(1104)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 1199(1299)<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1294(1394)<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1175(1275)<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 469(569)<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 571(671)</strong></p><p>
  <strong>[Heart Engine] - Increases maximum Stamina and Stamina Regen</strong>
</p><p>Not quite as useful after the enchantments I just added, but I'll take it. Seeing my level reminds me that I never investigated the trait I got at level 75 of the Hollow Knight class.</p><p>
  <strong>[Pure Soul] - You can shape and control your soul directly</strong>
</p><p>The Hollow Knight class is definitely weird. Nothing but traits. First, it was the ability to empower my skills with Soul. Which is useful, but not something I've used much. I don't like how tiring it is, and it makes me nervous. Even with the second trait that recovers my Soul when I attack enemies, I'm still hesitant to experiment with it.</p><p>The third trait is even weirder, but also makes the most sense. Complete protection from mind control and possession, geared towards protecting from Divine beings. Considering the being that this class is based on, it only makes sense.</p><p>The Hollow Knight was born amidst thousands of siblings from the joining of two Pale beings. While their exact power is unclear, these Pale beings were likely at least semi-divine. However, their children were corrupted by Void while they were still in their egg, resulting not in a Pale child, but something that is both Pale and Void.</p><p>The Hollow Knight was chosen from all of them as a Pure Vessel, and his purpose was to contain another divine being, the Radiance. The Radiance sought to control the minds and bodies of everyone, infecting them with her light. The Hollow Knight was created to contain that.</p><p>No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry out in suffering. Those are the words spoken by the father of the Hollow Knight, the Pale King. The Radiance could be contained by a being made of Void. A mind where it could be trapped, and where the host was immune to its power.</p><p>That was the idea at least. It ended up not working out like that, but whether the idea was flawed from the start or if the Hollow Knight himself wasn't suited for the task, or something else ruined things, isn't clear.</p><p>Still, with that in mind, it's only obvious that protection from divine control and possession comes with the class. The rest of the traits don't make much sense though, not at first. But they're all focused on Soul, and using Soul, the magic system of the Hollow Knight game.</p><p>Not only is Soul something that the player character, the Ghost, used, but so did the titular boss, the Hollow Knight, though you only see it properly when you fight the version of him not infected by the Radiance in the DLC.</p><p>So I guess rather than giving me the specific skills and abilities you get from the game, the class is giving me the broad abilities of the Vessels.</p><p>That does make me wonder what the last trait will be though. With Pure Soul, I can theoretically recreate any of the Soul Spells shown in the game, and whatever else my imagination can come up with, though with a hefty Soul cost. What could be last?</p><p>And what even is Soul anyways? It took me a lot of meditation to even find my own Soul, but it's still strange to me that it's not something that the Game keeps track of. I don't have a Soul Points bar below my MP, and I get no feedback on my status when I use up my Soul. But it has an unquestionable effect on my skills.</p><p>"Uhh, Axton?" I hear Kyu say, pulling me from my thoughts. Kyu and Yua are with me in my room tonight, also preparing for what I'm about to do. I look at Kyu with my head tilted, and she just points at the door.</p><p>I turn and see myself there, leaning against the closed door, grinning, and with eyes filled with swirling Void.</p><p>"The Man in the Wall," I greet him casually. "I wasn't sure if I was going to see you again."</p><p>"<em>Because of the shiny new defenses around your soul?</em>" he asks. "<em>I'm not nearly so easy to get rid of.</em>"</p><p>"Wait, is this the bozo that was messing with the Game?" Kyu asks. "God, he <em>is</em> creepy." Yua is silent and watching. I can feel her confusion and nervousness through our bond.</p><p>"<em>Did you hear that Champ?</em>" The Man in the Wall says, looking at me. "<em>She called us a bozo</em>."</p><p>I frown. "Not sure why you're trying to imply we're the same person when we <em>definitely</em> aren't."</p><p>"<em>Ah, but aren't we almost?</em>" he asks with a grin. "<em>After all, you've used my power, and some of me is part of you.</em>"</p><p>"Not enough for you to call us the same person," I shoot back. "Even if you like to take on my appearance and you've dug around inside my head."</p><p>He shrugs. "<em>You can see things however you like, but actions matter. Like the one that you're about to take.</em>" I tense, and he laughs. "<em>Did you think your thoughts were hidden now that your soul is better protected? I'm afraid the link between us is too deep for that. While it's true, I can't interfere with you directly anymore, but you can't hide from me either, not so long as you're connected to the Void.</em>"</p><p>"What do you want?" I snap at him.</p><p>"<em>Oh, nothing much,</em>" he replies. "<em>I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm not your enemy. In fact, you could even consider me an ally of sorts. I just wanted to wish you good luck, and to let you know that I hope you succeed in your endeavors.</em>"</p><p>"That'd mean a lot more if your smile wasn't so creepy," I reply. "But message received, thanks a lot, don't let the door hit you on the way out."</p><p>The Man in the Wall chuckles. "<em>Very well. I'll see you again soon, Champ</em>." With a blink, he vanishes.</p><p>"Papa, who was that?" Yua asks.</p><p>"A voyeur with too much time on his hands and no people skills," I reply. "Don't worry about him. He's a creep, but he probably won't do anything. Though I'm surprised he appeared here, outside of the dungeon and in view of other people."</p><p>"When you said he was creepy, that is <em>not</em> what I was expecting," Kyu complains. "Like holy shit, that dude sent shivers down my spine with every word." She sighs. "You were right about it being impossible to tell if he's on your side or not. He says he is, but the way he talks throws everything he says into doubt."</p><p>"Which is why I've been trying to pretend he doesn't exist," I say. "I'm glad he can't mess with my soul or the Game anymore, but the fact that he can still read my mind is...unsettling."</p><p>Kyu shakes her head. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure what we can do to prevent that. Other than doing what he said and cut off your connection to the Void. But that would have some serious consequences. Like, crippled soul consequences."</p><p>"And therefore not an option," I say with a shake of my head. "Not unless the situation with him gets really bad. My connection to the Void is far too useful."</p><p>She sighs. "Yeah. You're probably right. It's best to ignore it and hope it doesn't come to bite us in the ass later." She looks at me. "You had just finished getting ready before he showed up though, right?"</p><p>"One moment, I have some Gacha tokens I haven't used yet," I say, turning back to my inventory.</p><p>
  <strong>Ring of Life<br/>When the wearer's health falls below 5%, teleports them to a predetermined safe location</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Covetous Gold Serpent Ring<br/>Increases chances for all loot drops</strong>
</p><p>
  <b>Neutralizer</b>
  <b>
    <br/>
  </b>
  <b>Negates all resistances and weaknesses of the holder.</b>
</p><p>
  <strong>Ovengut Tonic Water<br/>Permanently increases CON by 50</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Portable Cooking Pot<br/>A medium-sized pot with a cover that can be used to cook non-living things. It does not require a fire but instead will keep itself at the perfect temperature for cooking whatever is inside it.</strong>
</p><p>Damn, nothing amazing. I was hoping for something good to help with what I was about to do, but oh well. They're still nice. I learn the enchantments for the first three and leave the other two for later. The Ovengut Tonic Water I'll give to Atsuko, and the cooking pot will probably be used in the future.</p><p>"Alright, now I'm ready," I say. I turn to face Kyu and smile at her. "Don't worry, I'll be back in time to get some rest, and then we'll have that date tomorrow."</p><p>She glares at me. "You fucking better. I'm tired of waiting. And I swear to god, if you die, I'll find some fucking necromancer or something and force them to revive you and punish you in all sorts of ways. I'm not going to have my date ruined by you dying, understood?"</p><p>"I love you too," I reply easily. She crosses her arms and looks away. I turn to Yua instead. "Come on Yua, let's go."</p><p>"Yay, it's time for a hunt with Papa!" she yells. She climbs up to the shoulder, standing on it on two feet now, dressed in her newly enchanted armor. I might be taking her with me, but I'm making sure she's prepared as well.</p><p>I turn to Kyu one last time. "I'll see you in just a bit."</p><p>She sighs. "Good luck. Have fun dragon hunting."</p><p>I grin and pull out an item from my inventory.</p><p>
  <strong>Right to Challenge(Ender Dragon)<br/>When used, teleports you to a Boss Arena with just you and the named boss. Can only be exited when the boss is defeated. Bosses grant special loot.</strong>
</p><p>The item itself looks like a thick piece of paper. At the top it says "Ender Dragon" in bold font, and below it is a picture of the Ender Dragon. At the bottom is a seal. I place my thumb on the seal, the entire paper goes up in a purple fire.</p><p>In less than the blink of an eye, the room around me is replaced by a chaotic nothing. Below my feet is a square platform made of reflective black stone, and maybe fifty feet in front of me is a floating island made of a strange yellow stone. The island is massive and populated by black towers and humanoid figures. I avert my eyes quickly, not looking at them directly.</p><p>Something made easy by an ear-shattering roar that rings out, drawing my attention upward. There I see a massive black dragon soaring above the island, wings beating heavily. I steel myself and then use [Observe] on it.</p><p><strong>Ender Dragon<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 1,524<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 539,000<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 311,500<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 888,500<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 2,156<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 3,554<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 1,578<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1,246<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1,108</strong><br/><strong>CHA: 899<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 201</strong></p><p>The Ender Dragon roars again, tilting its wings as it changes direction, heading straight for us.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I’m on Patreon! I’d very much appreciate it.<br/>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: https://www.tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I’m glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p><p>AN: And we’re finally done with the training! The next chapter will have a few things that Axton needs to take care of before the Rating Game, but trust me, it’ll be exciting and will have some long-anticipated moments.</p><p>I know some of you have been annoyed at the slow pace and lack of action, but that’s just what this fic is. It has a large focus on slice of life and building relationships rather than being just about the action. Things will pick up a bit, and we won’t have another training arc like this, but the pacing is going to remain more or less the same.</p><p>One of the things that drives me insane about the source material of DxD is that the various girls only took the slightest provocation before they basically threw themselves at Issei. Which isn’t that much of an issue in a fanservice-focused work. What really pissed me off is that nothing ever came from that, despite having ample chance.</p><p>Anyways I bring it up because progress with girls is gonna increase in speed at this point. The [Harem King] perk has been gained and it’s a more lewd version of DxD. The barrier to getting a girl to sleep with him now is pretty low on average, though it depends on the girl. Which is why Koneko is ‘already’ acting like she is, and why Akeno finally does the deed with Axton despite still having her own issues that haven’t been dealt with.</p><p>Sorry for the Hollow Knight spoilers/lore dump. But a few commenters have mentioned their confusion about the Hollow Knight class, so I thought it best to explain things. And I also have plans for more HK stuff in the future, though it’ll be a while before then, so having a solid foundation of understanding will be helpful.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. DxD: Getting Into Shape 06</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-Buffed Kronika's Gem from five seconds to ten seconds. Considering Bullet Time does five seconds at 1% speed and can be used once a day, having a legendary artifact stop time for the same amount of time but once a week felt kinda off-balance. This is a bit better.<br/>-Tweaked the Character Sheet a little to more accurately reflect what the numbers should be in terms of his HP/MP/SP regen. This didn't change their values significantly.<br/>-[Void Sight] didn't have the multiplier from either [Void Touched] or [Bishop's Blessing] applied for its maximum range. Whoops. That's been fixed now.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>As soon as I see the Ender Dragon head in our direction I [Void Travel], taking Yua and me away from the platform. Instead, I hide behind one of the obsidian pillars and put my back to it. The air here is weird, and I can <em>feel</em> the Void below us. I'm not sure what's around and above us, something air-like at least. Both Yua and I can breathe just fine. But a few hundred feet below us? I can feel the song of the Void. I haven't been this close to it since Kyu pulled me out, and being so close to it now, I feel conflicted. On one hand, it's a prison I escaped, but on the other hand, it just feels...comfortable. Like home, or a warm bath.</p><p>I shake my head. Worry about the Void later, focus on the dragon and nearby enemies right now. Speaking of which, they look quite different from how I'm used to seeing them. Not a surprise really, and honestly it would freak me the fuck out if they were still all boxy. They'd be less terrifying though. The Endermen themselves...well, they're actually not that different from in the game. Long spindly limbs, a small torso, and a large head with minimal features. I'm not sure what they are made of, but it reeks of Void, though it isn't completely Void.</p><p>The Ender Dragon itself is a completely different story, and I can actually look closer at it, unlike the Endermen, who attack when looked at. The dragon has pitch black scales covering nearly every inch of its body. In fact, they look remarkably similar to the obsidian pillars around us. But there are a few spots of colors. Its claws, teeth, and various spikes and ridges along its back, wings, and tail are a bright silver color. The little I can see inside of its mouth is a dark purple color. Its eyes glow with a more vibrant purple, and its wings are made of leathery black skin that has a faint purple pattern of fire on them.</p><p>All in all, they're pretty formidable looking, especially the dragon. I take Yua off of my shoulder and make her face me.</p><p>"Okay, quick strategy," I start. "First and most important, do NOT look at the things around us. They can be in your sight, but don't look directly at them, not even with [Void Sight], okay?"</p><p>"Okay!" Yua agrees, equal parts excited and serious.</p><p>"If you accidentally look at one, it will attack. Take it out quickly but making sure you don't look at any others. They can teleport and will do so when you hit them. Use the Magic Missile wand. They're weak to water but we don't have a good way to take advantage of that."</p><p>She nods in understanding, and I hear a roar in the distance. I peek around with [Void Sight], and the Ender Dragon is circling around, looking for us, but it hasn't spotted us yet. Good. There are a few Endermen nearby, but thankfully there aren't too many, and they don't seem very interested in us. Which is fine by me.</p><p>I turn my attention back to Yua. "Here's the game plan for the actual dragon. You see on top of these towers, how some of them have crystals on them?" She nods. "Those will heal the dragon. Your job is going to be taking care of them. They're fragile, just hitting them with any of the spell wands should be enough. However, it's <em>very</em> important that you do it from the safety of another pillar, as they explode when damaged. Okay? Destroy crystals from a distance. Some of them are in cages, but I'm sure you can figure out a way around that. Or just brute force your way through it, it doesn't matter."</p><p>The Ender Dragon is making circles now, and it's only a matter of time before it spots us, so I hurry up. "Once they're all destroyed, tell me. I'll be keeping its attention, but once that happens, I'll focus on taking it down. While I'm doing that, I want you to loot a bunch of stuff. See those purple trees? Get as much of those and the fruit they have as you can. Also some of the stone and obsidian around here."</p><p>She tilts her head. "Just...collect stuff?"</p><p>"Yes, it's important," I say. "There might not be time after we kill it to grab anything, and all of this is super valuable. If I need your help with the boss, I'll let you know." Though the truth is, I just don't think she can help much. Her wands allow her to provide a lot of support and utility, but they don't offer much in terms of power. And she's still so weak compared to me, I'm worried she'll die too easily.</p><p>"If you say so Papa," she agrees.</p><p>"Okay, I'll grab its attention," I say as I put her down. "As soon as I do, you get started. Ready?" She nods again. I take a deep breath, and I [Void Travel] to the center of the island and blast the Ender Dragon with a [Void Beam]. It roars, even as I keep [Void Beam] on it, and it turns towards me. I rise up in the air, flying with the enchantment I fed to the Omni-Ring earlier. It uses either SP or MP, and the amount varies based on how fast I'm going. I have it set to using SP right now so I can use my MP for casting spells.</p><p>I fly away from it, keeping pace with it chasing me. At this speed, my SP regen is greater than how much I use to fly, which is good. I'm still getting used to flying, but it's mostly a matter of will and envisioning, so it's not too difficult. I'm not sure I can pull off complicated maneuvers though.</p><p>I see the crystals atop the obsidian pillars send out beams of energy, healing the Ender Dragon, and I check its health again. I nearly fall out of the sky in surprise when I do, because it's at full health. I laid into it with [Void Beam] for nearly ten seconds though, which should have done almost half of its health, or maybe a quarter if its hide is tough or magically resistant or whatever.</p><p>So either the healing from the crystals is absurdly fast, or I didn't do very much damage. And looking back on it, I don't remember seeing any significant damage on it. So it's probably the latter. Which can only mean one thing. It's resistant to Void.</p><p>I curse and focus my [Void Beam] on its eyes, but this isn't a dumb beast I'm facing, and it moves its head, not allowing me to blind it, even as it redoubles its efforts to reach me, forcing me to speed up as well. I start weaving through the pillars, but the Ender Dragon is surprisingly nimble and it keeps pace with me.</p><p>Since I apparently can't do significant damage like this, I focus on keeping its attention. Thankfully Yua has taken out a couple of crystals, and there aren't <em>too</em> many more for her to deal with. She should be done in less than a minute at this rate. But I'm desperately racking my brain, trying to think of how to damage it. I should have known it would be resistant to Void. Why the fuck wouldn't it be? It lives and thrives in an area that's practically the Void itself. Down below us is pure Void, and it seeps into the air around us. The same air the Ender Dragon spends all of its time in.</p><p>Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of other damage options. My Rogue class gave me utility skills and things to improve critical hits, and my Hollow Knight class just gave me soul skills. Weak Spot, the Rogue perk that tells me about critical hit spots, says it only has one, and it requires being able to punch through the scales on its chest with something several feet long. My knife isn't going to do much. Not even its eyes are a critical hit spot due to the weirdness of its biology.</p><p>Which leaves my brand new Soul manipulation. The thing I haven't practiced and leaves me exhausted. I grimace. That's a risky option with a low chance of payoff. No, we'll see how my knife does first. It's a shame I can't sneak attack. As soon as I disappear, I'm sure the dragon will go straight for Yua, who hasn't maxed out [Fade] yet, and she doesn't have the flight enchantment on her armor.</p><p>So instead I spend the next thirty seconds continuing to harass the Ender Dragon with [Void Beam] while Yua systematically destroys all of the healing crystals, which the dragon doesn't seem to notice is happening, somehow. Maybe I just draw a lot of aggro despite my lack of damage?</p><p>"<em>All done Papa!</em>" Yua lets me know when the last one is destroyed. "<em>I'm gonna start grabbing stuff now, good luck!</em>"</p><p>I spend a few more seconds peppering it with [Void Beam], seeing what it does when it's not being healed. But even five seconds of the attack isn't enough to do even a single percent of its health. It's practically fucking immune to Void. I take a deep breath to steel myself. I guess that just leaves the hard way.</p><p>I swerve around another pillar, but instead of continuing past it, I do a full loop and head straight for the Ender Dragon. It seems surprised, but quickly collects itself and snaps at me, but I [Void Travel] the short distance to appear right behind its head and turn around, latching on to the base of its neck quickly with [Spider Climb]. I pull out my Hestia Knife and stab it. I meet resistance, but I manage to punch through.</p><p>I grimace as I check the damage. Barely more than the [Void Beam]. A dagger is not the weapon I need for this fight. Fine, I'll make something else then. I put the knife away and raise my hand, tugging at the sensation of my soul inside of me. I notice the Ender Dragon thrashing under me, trying to throw me off, but [Spider Climb] keeps me attached.</p><p>I focus all of my willpower on the sensation of my soul. I have a clear image in mind, a simple lance made of soul. If I can just make that, I can use it to pierce deeper into the dragon and do more damage.</p><p>My soul starts to bubble up through my upraised hand and become something almost solid, but I'm interrupted. The Ender Dragon swerves, its direction changing, no longer trying to buck me off. My instincts tell me something is wrong, and I activate [Void Detect] to try to understand what's happening. But it's too late.</p><p>The Ender Dragon slams its back into an obsidian pillar, and I'm caught between it. I scream in pain as the crushing force embeds me into the surface of the glassy rock, which shatters and cracks around me. If it weren't for Gamer's Body, my ribs and possibly spine would be destroyed right about now. As it is, my HP fell below 20% just from that blow alone. Thankfully my HP regen is decent and it's starting to come back, though it'll be roughly thirty seconds until I'm back at full.</p><p>The Ender Dragon isn't done with me yet though. It's flying in place, facing me now, roaring in displeasure at me. Before I can start to disentangle myself from the rock, it opens its maw and sprays me with purple acid. Thankfully Isma's Tear is in my Omni-Ring, completely protecting me from acid.</p><p>Ignoring the gross spray attack, I use the cover it provides to try to rip myself out of the pillar. I need to be able to move to [Void Travel], so being stuck prevents me from teleporting out. I'm nearly out when [Void Detect] picks up another movement from the dragon. It stops spraying acid, and instead, it lunges forward, mouth still open.</p><p>I desperately heave, activating [Void Blood] for the extra strength I need to remove myself from the pillar. I feel myself start to shift, but it's not fast enough.</p><p>A warm blast of wind hits me, carrying with it the rank smell of rot and death, and before I can move, the silvery teeth of the Ender Dragon's maw snap shut around my upper body, and everything goes black.</p><p>…</p><p>..</p><p>.</p><p>Time stops having any meaning as I lose all sensation of the space around me, alone in nothingness. Not the apparent emptiness of the Void. This is true emptiness. No sensation, no time, no System. Just my own muddled thoughts.</p><p>I died. The Ender Dragon bit me in half and I died, that's the only possible conclusion. And all I can feel is shame. I had so many options left, so many things to try. Why was I fighting it directly? I didn't even poison my knife! I took so many precautions for that fight...but in the actual fight itself, I got cocky. I was too used to just overpowered everything. I forgot how to fight like a Rogue. That fight shouldn't have been hard, it <em>shouldn't have killed me.</em></p><p>I feel a spark inside me, the feeling of Void flaring up. It's rising rapidly, like a pool filling with water, or a fire consuming its fuel. That's right, I have that, don't I? My final and most powerful ace in the hole. I latch on to the rising tsunami of Void inside of me, thanking the System for my Ultimate Void skill.</p><p>And in a flash of fury and Void, I am reborn.</p><p>[Void Rebirth] was the last skill I earned from the Void Mage class, and it's honestly one I had forgotten about. Since it requires me to die to level it up and it has a massive cooldown before it can be used again it's too risky to train deliberately. And I'm glad I didn't because I needed it now.</p><p>I appear back where I was, back to the obsidian pillar and facing down the Ender Dragon. Mana thrums through my body, threatening to leak out and causing me massive amounts of pain. I know I can't delay a second in using it. So I go big. Taking just a moment to empower it with my soul, I cast [Void Call], not on the Dragon, but on myself.</p><p>[Void Call] isn't a spell I use often. Its attack potency is massive, but it's exponentially more expensive than my other techniques for the same amount of damage, and the cost increases exponentially as I increase the size of the effect. But there's something it does better than any other skill I have, and that's completely erasing everything in its area, including the rock of the pillar.</p><p>The Ender Dragon slammed me into a point just below the halfway mark of one of the tallest obsidian pillars on the island. A supercharged and soul empowered [Void Call] centered on me cuts a spherical area out of it, leaving just a few inches to support the upper half of the heavy tower. And from the way it immediately cracks, it's not enough to hold it up.</p><p>I expected to take damage myself from the Void Call, but I feel it wrap around me, the soul imbued in the skill protecting me from its effects.</p><p>As I feel the pillar start to fall, and as I see the Ender Dragon realize the same thing, I reach into my inventory and pull out Kronika's gem. A tiny pulse of willpower causes time to stop around me. I don't have long, but I don't need long.</p><p>I chug an Ultimate Omni Potion for the increased HP/MP/SP regen rate. I equip my Poisoned Sheath and put my knife in it, so the next attack with it will be poisoned. Then I take out my animated rope, have it tie itself around the Ender Dragon's neck, and I activate [Void Blood]. Then I mark the Ender Dragon with [Hunt]. Not because I thought I was going to lose it, but for the extra damage.</p><p>As soon as time resumes I instantly slow it down again with my perk Bullet Time. Time around me slowed down to just 1% of its normal rate, and I use all of my strength to fly directly into the pillar, dragging the formidable bulk of the Ender Dragon into it. Between my improved stats, the fact that it still hasn't processed what's happening so it isn't fighting me, and the effects of our difference in time, I succeed in yanking it straight into the still crumbling sliver of rock still holding up the rest of the pillar right before Bullet Time ends.</p><p>That small bit shatters as the Ender Dragon crashes into it, and the top half of the pillar falls, heading directly for the Ender Dragon's massive bulk. There's no way it can get out of the way in time, but I don't plan on remaining idle while it happens.</p><p>"<em>Yua!</em>" I call out to her along the Familiar bond. "<em>Change of plans. Get over here with your wands. I'm about to pin down the Dragon and I don't want it getting back up again. Leave attacking it to me, your job is to alter the terrain so it can't move.</em>"</p><p>"<em>On my way!</em>" she replies instantly as the pillar finally falls enough to hit the Ender Dragon, sending them both tumbling into the ground. I watch impassively from the sky, sensory skills running at full power. "<em>But are you okay? I couldn't feel you for a second there.</em>"</p><p>I draw my knife. "<em>I'm fine</em>," I reassure her as I slit my forearm open from elbow to wrist. Blood pumps out rapidly. "<em>It just surprised me a bit with how tough it is</em>."</p><p>Once again I call on my soul to empower a skill, and I use [Hemomancy] to latch on to my blood. Forming a weapon out of soul is too difficult to learn in the heat of battle, but making weapons out of blood? That's <em>much</em> easier.</p><p>With my HP and MP both refilling at incredible rates, I use [Hemomancy] to draw gallon after gallon of my blood, turning it into six-foot-long spears of red crystal. They fill the air around me as I float downwards, watching as the pillar and the Ender Dragon finally smash into the ground, shaking the entire island and taking out nearly two-thirds of the dragon's health.</p><p>I don't waste any time in using [Hemomancy] to launch the spears of blood straight into the wings of the Ender Dragon. It roars in pain as the spears punch through the thin leather of its wings, filling them with holes.</p><p>Yua appears at that moment, wands at the ready. In moments, spikes of earth and walls of ice shoot up around the dragon, pinning legs and wings into place. Then, to follow it up, the ground beneath it turns soft and swampy, and the Ender Dragon starts sinking into it. A massive weight on top of it, wings torn to shreds, limbs locked in place, and sinking into the ground. It's not going anywhere.</p><p>I keep making soul-empowered spears of blood and pincushion the dragon with them. Each spear that hits replenishes my soul a bit, enough so that I can keep empowering them, so long as I don't miss.</p><p>As I do that I draw my knife and teleport onto the back of the dragon. I stab into it, inflicting it with poison. I resheathe my knife to apply the poison to its edge again and repeat my action. Its back is riddled with festering knife wounds and spears of crystallized blood. I still have a connection to those spears of blood, so I use [Hemomancy] to shove them in further and shatter them, dealing even more damage.</p><p>The dragon roars in pain as it attempts to thrash about. The ice holding its tail in place cracks and splinters, whipping towards me with surprising dexterity.</p><p>I sheath myself in [Void Cloak], allowing the attack to pass through me, not stopping my attacks at all. It's still at 15% health, but it's dropping fast. The broken pillar of obsidian starts to shift, so I increase my rate, focusing on the spears of blood. Thanks to the potion, even losing this much blood a second barely has an effect on my health. [Gamer's Body] is beyond helpful.</p><p>Yua continues to pin it down in an ever-growing cage of ice and stone, and as its health drops below 5%, its movements grow weaker. With the end near, I pull an item out of my inventory. A diamond that I had asked Aika to turn into a Soul Trap. It's only moments after the Ender Dragon's health reaches zero, and it dies beneath my feet.</p><p>I collapse, falling onto my ass and sitting down on the dragon's corpse. My hands are shaking, and I clench them tight to get them to stop. I try not to think about how I died during that fight as a Game window appears in my vision.</p><p>
  <strong>Boss Slain!<br/>Rewards: 1,000,000 XP, Ender Dragon Egg, 20 bottles of End Acid, 25k Hunie, 3 Gacha Tokens<br/>Returning in 60 seconds</strong>
</p><p>60 seconds. "Yua!" I call out. "You have one minute, loot everything you can!" She runs off and I sigh. My heart is still pounding, and I feel tense, but I shove those feelings to the side. For now, I have to loot, starting with the Dragon.</p><p>The important question is, can I store it in my inventory? I place my hands against its corpse and focus on pulling it in. There's a moment where nothing happens, but then with a flash, it disappears, and I see it listed in my inventory. Convenient. I catch myself out of the air with the Flight enchantment, not wanting to fall into the swampy end stone below, though already it's starting to harden back into normal end stone.</p><p>I look down at the jewel in my hand and use [Observe] on it to confirm that my idea worked.</p><p>
  <strong>Soul Trap Diamond<br/>A diamond that will capture any loose soul in an area of 100m around it. Currently filled with the soul of an Ender Dragon.</strong>
</p><p>Good. Between the corpse and the soul, all of this was worth it. Just barely. I don't join Yua in looting the place. Instead, I take a moment to collect my thoughts. I died. I came into this fight cocky, and I played to my weaknesses, so I paid for it. I didn't use traps, or poison, or sneak attacks. I fucking tried to rodeo it like a fucking Barbarian or Fighter.</p><p>I clench my hands into fists. They're no longer shaking. No more of that, lesson learned. Play to my strengths. I look around at the mess of stone and ice. That's another lesson. I'm not alone, I've put a lot of time into gathering allies. Atsuko could have made this fight <em>easy</em>. I could have called Serafall for a favor. I could have made this the final test for Rias and her group. But no, I came in here alone, despite not needing to.</p><p>I sigh. First I was lazy, and this time I was cocky. But I survived. Sorta. Close enough. I'll live on, lesson learned.</p><p>I call Yua back to me right before the timer expires, and with a tug, we appear back in my bedroom at the mountain resort. And the first thing I see is Kyu's angry face. Shit.</p><p>"You died," she says. Not a question. More of an accusation really.</p><p>"I got better," I deflect flippantly as Yua yawns and hops off of my shoulder onto my bed, her armor disappearing. Kyu's eyes narrow, and I raise my hands in surrender. "Look, I know I fucked up okay? I got cocky, and I nearly paid the price for it." I look away. "Trust me, I know."</p><p>She glares at me for a moment longer and then sighs, shoulders slumping. "Dammit Axton," she grumbles. "I had this big rant planned. I was really going to chew you out. But if you're going to be all mature and serious and mopey like that it takes all the fun out of it."</p><p>I snort. "Sorry for ruining your fun," I apologize teasingly.</p><p>"Shut up," she snaps. "Look, it's a few hours before the sun comes up. Why don't you take a nap, sleep in until you have to make breakfast or whatever."</p><p>I frown. "But I finally have the final ingredient, I have so much I need to-"</p><p>"Nope!" she interrupts me. "For the next few hours, the only thing you're going to be doing is stripping out of that gross armor and getting in that bed with me and Yua. You fucking <em>died</em> Axton. You're taking a goddamn nap."</p><p>I hesitate. It's tempting. I haven't slept since before this training camp. I don't <em>need</em> sleep, not on any level. But I still enjoy it, especially if it's with other people.</p><p>I sigh. "I guess I did say earlier that I'd sleep afterward, didn't I?" I give in. I strip naked, storing my clothes into my inventory. "A few hours will be fine. I have plenty of time before the Rating game and after our date to get things done."</p><p>She smiles. "Damn right you do." She strips as well, leaving her in just her panties. The two of us get in bed, where Yua is already snoring. We position ourselves so my back is to the wall and I'm spooning Kyu, and she's spooning Yua.</p><p>I want to take a moment to appreciate Kyu's slender back and the feeling of her pressed up against me, but as soon as I lay down I feel sleep rising up over me. Before it takes me though, I feel a soft sensation on my lips, and I hear Kyu's voice. "You idiot…"</p><p>Before I can even think to muster up a response, I slip under the waves, and I fall fast asleep.</p><hr/><p>I whistle as I toss some pancakes from the pan in my hand to the plate on the counter nearby. One of the nice side benefits of a super high DEX stat is getting to show off like this, though the only person nearby is Kyu, who is in her smallest form and lounging on top of my head. Yua is going to be spending the day with Momo and has already left.</p><p>It's later than I normally make breakfast, the sun rose hours ago, but everyone slept in today so it's fine. I can tell with [Void Detect] that the others are starting to stir and get up, so it won't be long before they're down here.</p><p>I store another plate of pancakes into my inventory to keep it fresh. I actually went a bit overboard, but that's fine. Having a large supply of pancakes in my inventory whenever I want is fine by me.</p><p>By the time I'm starting to run low on ingredients, people are shuffling sleepily in. I hand each of them a plate of pancakes as they come in, and each of my girls gets a good morning kiss as well, including Koneko. This draws a few looks of surprise from everyone else, but no one says anything and Koneko smiles happily, which is enough for me.</p><p>"It's weird," Atsuko complains as we all eat together.</p><p>"What is?" I ask, confused. Did I fuck up the pancakes somehow?</p><p>"I'm just so used to our daily routine of training," she says. "But we're not gonna do any of that today. And in a couple of days, we'll be back in school like normal." She shakes her head. "It feels weird. Not bad weird, just weird."</p><p>"Incorporating training into your daily life is probably a good idea," I point out. "But not the entirety of it. Training camps like this should be a rare or occasional thing."</p><p>"Yeah, I know," she says. "I don't know how I'm going to work out at home though. Normal weights aren't going to do it I suspect."</p><p>"I'm sure Rias can help you out with that," I say looking at the girl in question. "Surely you have access to equipment appropriate for Devils to use to train."</p><p>"I do," she says. "Kiba and Koneko already use it, it's in one of the rooms in the clubroom." She looks at me. "Don't you have some as well now?"</p><p>"Now that you mention it, I do have a gym in my new place," I reply. Serafall showed it to me on our tour, though I didn't look closely at it.</p><p>Aika speaks up. "Wait, is it done already? You mentioned you were getting a new place built because of some deal you made with Leviathan, but you didn't mention it was done already."</p><p>"Yeah she got it done super quick," I say. "She gave me a tour of it a couple of nights ago. Did I not mention it last night?" Last night during our bath I had asked if Atsuko and Aika would watch over Asia since I'm going to be busy today.</p><p>"You just said you would be busy with stuff, not what sort of stuff," she says with a shake of her head. "I'm guessing you have to take care of some things there? Is that where Wilhelm went?"</p><p>"Yes, to both questions," I say. "Though taking care of a few final things at my new place is just one of the things that are going to keep me busy. I also have those last-minute preparations to take care of. And I have an old friend who I've made plans to meet up with."</p><p>Everyone perks up in interest at that. "An old friend?" Aika asks with a sly smile. "Lemme guess, an old girlfriend?"</p><p>I roll my eyes. "Nah, we never dated," I reply. Technically, today will be the first time we date. Kyu snorts on top of my head. "She's a friend who helped me out of a tricky situation before I moved to Kuoh and we ended up making plans for today."</p><p>Most of the girls around me look thoughtful at that, but the look Aika gives me makes it clear that she didn't miss the doublespeak.</p><p>"What's she like?" Asia asks.</p><p>"Hmm," I reply as I think about how to answer, acutely aware of Kyu's presence. "You know what? She's going to be sticking around for a while, so I'll just introduce her to you after the Rating Game."</p><p>Kyu laughs on top of my head. "Nice dodge."</p><p>"Anyways, I have a lot to do and not a lot of time," I say, standing up. "In fact, I'm sorry to say, but I'll have to be heading out of here first. But I'll see all of you tomorrow, before the Rating Game, okay?"</p><p>Everyone says their goodbyes and I [Void Travel] away, arriving in my old apartment. Kyu flies off of my head and grows to full size.</p><p>"So, what have you got planned for our date?" she asks.</p><p>"A lot actually," I say, looking at the time. "Get dressed up for a casual public outing. I hope you're rested because we have a long day ahead of us."</p><p>"Ooh, exciting," she says as she strips. "But good. I was gonna chew you out if you just took me to see a movie or whatever."</p><p>"Nah," I deny. "We've both been waiting for this for too long. We're gonna make up for lost time with a full day of fun."</p><p>"That's what I like to hear!" she cheers as she gets dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts. "Man, I wish I had more clothes."</p><p>I grin. "Well then you're in luck, our first stop is one of Tokyo's biggest shopping centers. I figured we can spend a few hours shopping and looking around, then grab some lunch there before moving on."</p><p>"Smart thinking," she compliments. "I desperately need to fill out my wardrobe." She finishes getting dressed. "The wings have to go, but what do you think about the hair? Stay pink, or no?"</p><p>"Absolutely stay pink," I say. "Brown looks good on you too, but pink hair looks better, and no one's going to think it's weird here."</p><p>"Very true," she says. "Though I don't think I've shown you my brown hair before?"</p><p>Ah right. "In the game I saw you in before I met you, you briefly appeared with brown hair as a disguise."</p><p>"Oh right, I almost forgot about that," she says with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well whatever, come on, let's get going!"</p><p>I link my arm with hers and [Void Travel] to our destination. This morning while cooking I used [Void Sight] to scope it out and find a good out-of-the-way place for us to arrive. It's still early in the morning, but the shopping center is already packed.</p><p>"Oh yeah, I can definitely spend a lot of your money here," Kyu says with a laugh.</p><p>"That's what we're here for," I reply with a chuckle of my own.</p><p>"Something is missing though," she says thoughtfully, but there's an evil-looking grin on her face.</p><p>I blink, suddenly nervous. "What's missing?" I ask hesitantly, knowing that I'm walking into a trap but also knowing that there's no avoiding it.</p><p>"You can't have a date without <em>this</em>," she says, waving a hand at me. When she does, a familiar sight appears in front of me. It's a Game window, but in it is a grid with seven rows and eight columns filled with bright and colorful shapes.</p><p>My eyes widen. It's the date mini-game from Huniepop. "You have <em>got</em> to be shitting me," I say out loud, looking at Kyu.</p><p>She tries to hold a straight face, but in moments she cracks, busting out in laughter. "Holy shit dude, your fucking face!" she says, laughing hard enough that she's doubled over. A few people give her strange looks, but they lose interest quickly.</p><p>The window in front of me disappears, and Kyu keeps laughing. "Can you <em>actually</em> imagine though? Me making you play that shit?" She stands up, recovering a little. "Nah, you don't need any of that. That system is like training wheels."</p><p>I sigh. "Damn, I was having some PTSD flashbacks," I say. "Don't get me wrong, I liked the game, but I'm not doing that shit on a real date."</p><p>She waves her hand. "Nah, you just reminded me of that system and I wanted to fuck with you a bit," she says. "And it was so worth it." She looks around. "Ooh, that store right there looks like it has some cute clothes! Come on, I want a different outfit for the rest of our date."</p><p>Over the next few hours, we poked our heads into nearly every store we passed. If it weren't for my Inventory, I'd probably look like the cliche boyfriend carrying bags and bags of clothes she bought. She's wearing a skirt now, and her t-shirt has been replaced with a crop top that shows off her midriff.</p><p>She hasn't limited herself to clothes either. It's mostly clothes, but we also found an adult store and she bought a few things from there as well. Though we've already made enough trips to adult stores in Kuoh that there's not much she could get. Still, she managed to pick up a few things for herself.</p><p>At around 1 pm we grab some lunch from one of the shops and eat it, sitting at a table outside while watching the people pass by.</p><p>"Ooh, how about her?" Kyu asks, indicating a woman walking by in a business suit and wearing sunglasses.</p><p>"Definitely a sub," I say. "Those glasses are hiding bags under her eyes, she's tired as hell. She doesn't have the energy to be the dominant one."</p><p>"Hey, I said no using skills!" Kyu protests. "You totally can't tell she's tired."</p><p>"No, you said no [Lewd Scouter] or [Observe]," I reply. "And I didn't use either of those."</p><p>Kyu grumbles, but she knows I'm right since she can tell what skills I've used. She takes another bite of her food, finishing it.</p><p>"Whatever," she says. "I think we're done here though. What's next?"</p><p>I stand up and grab our trash, dumping it into my inventory to throw out later. "Next is something special," I say, reaching my hand out to her.</p><p>She takes it, and I use [Void Travel] again. We appear on a stone path surrounded by flowers and other plants, carefully arranged.</p><p>"Welcome to one of the largest and most beautiful botanical gardens in the world," I say.</p><p>Her eyes widen as she turns in a circle. "This is amazing," she says. "So much nature and flowers. It really reminds me of home."</p><p>"This is what Sky Garden looks like?" I ask as we start to walk along the path. There are a few people here already, but none of them pay attention to us.</p><p>"Not really, but sorta," she replies. "This is like a display of nature. You've got your stone path and between the paths are all the beautiful plants and such. At home, the paths and all of the buildings and stuff are all part of it. Don't get me wrong, we still have metal and stone and modern conveniences that are part of the things we've built there. But flowers and other kinds of plants are a big central part of how we design things. Most walls have vines growing into them by design. With a bit of magic, you can get some really cool blends of technology and nature."</p><p>"Not quite what's happening here," I reply as she stops along the path, crouching down to get a closer look at a flower. She taps it, and it seems to stand up a little straighter and is just a little more vibrant after she does so.</p><p>"No, not quite," she says, standing up again. "But it's close enough to bring up memories. Our normal parks actually look a lot like this, though the plants are a bit more magical."</p><p>"Do you miss it?" I ask her as we continue walking around.</p><p>She shakes her head. "Nah," she denies. "I've spent a lot of time there, and I like it there, but I can go back whenever I want. I usually spend time there between clients anyways. That's part of the policy. We go back, report about how things went with our client, use some vacation days relaxing at home, and then go out for another job."</p><p>I frown. "What constitutes finishing with a client?"</p><p>She smiles at me teasingly. "Aww, what's that, don't want to see me go?"</p><p>"No, I don't," I reply truthfully.</p><p>"Well don't worry about that," she says. "With the System I've got you hooked up on I'm a critical part of that. If I go away, the System goes away, and I wouldn't do that to you. I'm with you for the long haul." She laughs nervously. "My bosses might chew me out for it, but that's nothing new."</p><p>My shoulders feel lighter at hearing her say she isn't going to leave. Good. "Ah, so you're the problem child of the Love Fairies," I tease her. "That's why I'm stuck with you."</p><p>She punches me on the shoulder and laughs. "Oh please, you know you wouldn't be able to have as much fun with some other Love Fairy."</p><p>"True," I agree with a smile. I don't actually know that, not having met another Love Fairy. But that doesn't matter. Kyu is undoubtedly a lot of fun.</p><p>We spend a couple more hours chatting and looking at all the flora that the botanical garden has to offer before we [Void Travel] to our next destination, a beachside water park.</p><p>"Oh hell yeah!" Kyu shouts as we arrive. "I can bust out my leaf bikini!"</p><p>She runs off to a nearby changing room. I look around to make sure no one is looking before swapping my outfit for a pair of swimming trunks. I notice one kid do a double-take at me, apparently having noticed that I wasn't wearing a swimming trunk just a second ago. His eyes widen, and I smirk at him, raising a finger in front of my lips to tell him to be quiet. He runs off, presumably to go tell someone, or out of fear. Doesn't matter, no one's gonna believe an eight-year-old.</p><p>Kyu comes out a few minutes later wearing a bikini made of leaves. "Wait, is that actually alive?" I ask her. [Dryad's Aura] picks it up as a living plant I could control.</p><p>"It sure is," she replies cheerfully. "It's not my sexiest bikini, but it's convenient and fun. It just needs some sunlight and water every now and then, making it the perfect swimsuit."</p><p>"Even if that water is chlorinated?" I ask. "Or if it's saltwater?"</p><p>"Magic, bitch!" she replies. "Any kind of water works fine."</p><p>"Impressive," I say. I consider messing with her, using [Dryad's Aura] to cause a wardrobe malfunction or something, but she seems to really like it, and I don't want to risk messing it up. I haven't practiced with the skill much. Putting those plans aside, I grab her by the end. "Come on, let's start out with the big slides."</p><p>"Hell yeah!" she cheers, and we take off towards them.</p><p>We spend a couple hours swimming, going down the slides, and going around enjoying all the water park has to offer. At the end, we lounge on some sunbathing chairs and watch the sunset.</p><p>I look at the time. "We should get going soon," I say.</p><p>"You have even more planned?" Kyu asks, eyebrow raised.</p><p>"Like I said, I'm going all out on this one," I reply. "We have reservations for a nice place in Tokyo soon, and I figured we'd need to head back home to shower first."</p><p>"Ooh, ending things with a fancy dinner does sound nice," she replies. "And you're right about the showers." She sits up. "Come on, I'm hungry."</p><p>I laugh and take her hand, teleporting us both to my apartment. Both of us strip quickly and step into the bathroom. As I turn on the shower, I take a moment to appreciate Kyu's body. I've seen her naked fairly often, she has no shame. But that has never stopped me from enjoying it.</p><p>She winks at me when she notices me looking and runs her hands down her body, water trickling down her modest chest and following the curves from her waist to her hips and then down her legs.</p><p>"You can look, but you can't touch," she teases. "Not yet at least."</p><p>"Not even to help you wash up?" I ask.</p><p>She shakes her head. "Nope. You and I both know that if I give you an inch, it'll only be a few minutes before you have your inches inside of me, and then we'll miss our reservation."</p><p>I sigh, but she's right. Still, she gave me permission to look, so I soak it all in while we give ourselves a quick rub. It's hard not touching each other while sharing a shower, and we do bump into each other occasionally. Both of us tense whenever it happens, and I can tell she wants it just as bad as I do. But we also both want to finish this date and do it right.</p><p>We manage to finish the shower without falling into temptation, though my dick is hard as steel, something she smirks at when she notices it. Ignoring that, we both get dressed in nice clothes that we bought earlier in the day. I'm in a simple suit, and she's wearing a short-cut red dress that hugs her curves.</p><p>"Damn you make that look good," I tell her when we finish getting ready.</p><p>"You don't clean up half bad yourself," she replies with a smirk. She offers her hand to me, and I teleport us back to Tokyo.</p><p>The place I chose for us is nice, extremely so. In fact, getting reservations even a few days ahead of time had required me to bribe some people. But there were no problems as I walked up to the front, gave them my name, and we were led to our table, which was a slightly out of the way and private spot.</p><p>I order a nice steak because I can't even remember the last time I had a good steak, and Kyu gets a pasta dish.</p><p>"Ooh, we should get some wine to go along with it," Kyu says as the waiter takes our orders.</p><p>"An excellent idea," the waiter responds. He hesitates. "The two of you are of legal drinking age, correct? Could I see some ID please?"</p><p>Ah, right. That's a thing. Thankfully, I have a solution for this. I look the waiter in the eyes and use [Hypnotize] for the first time. "We've shown you our ID's and we're both old enough to drink," I instruct him.</p><p>There's a small amount of resistance, but I can feel the suggestion settling in. I end the skill and he blinks, getting his bearings back. "My apologies for that," he says with a small bow. "You both look much younger than your age."</p><p>Kyu giggles and I smile. "We get that a lot," I reply. "We'll take whatever wine is the recommended pairing for our meals."</p><p>"Very well sir," he replies. "Your food will be out shortly." With that, he turns around and walks away.</p><p>"That was hot," Kyu comments. "I mean, I could have illusioned something up, but the Jedi mind tricks are cool too."</p><p>"I can't depend on you for everything," I say. "Plus, I've been dying to try out that skill since I got it."</p><p>"Next date we go on we should have some fun with it," Kyu replies, a mischievous grin on her face. "See what kind of trouble we can get into."</p><p>I laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like fun," I agree. "Speaking of later, I know I kinda just said I'd do it, but are you okay with me introducing you to the others in a few days?"</p><p>"Oh, that?" she asks dismissively. "Yeah, that's totes fine. I already told you I wanted to do that anyway, didn't I? Especially now that you've got a big harem and a big house." She grins lustfully. "You've collected some very nice beauties. I can't wait to play with them."</p><p>"I'm sure Atsuko would be very willing," I say. "I'm going to have to convince them all to move into my place somehow, that way we can spend more quality time with everyone."</p><p>"I haven't seen your new place yet," Kyu comments. "How big is it?"</p><p>"Way bigger than I thought it would be," I reply. "Serafall went crazy with it. It has everything I could possibly need. You could pretty feasibly live a healthy life without ever leaving it."</p><p>"Sounds like she likes you a lot," Kyu comments. "How close are you to banging her?"</p><p>I sigh. "Only as close as I am to banging Sona. Which I'm not <em>too</em> far from doing, but it's not going to be a quick process either. You don't rush a girl like Sona. But it's only after that am I going to be able to have sex with Serafall. Though just making progress with Sona might be enough to convince her to fool around with me a bit."</p><p>"Nice, nice," Kyu replies. "Can't wait to see your new place though. No offense to your apartment, but it kinda sucks."</p><p>I roll my eyes. "It's not like I chose it or have any emotional attachment to it," I reply. "The mansion is indeed way better. Don't worry, you'll see it after this. We have to break in the big bed Serafall put in the master bedroom after all."</p><p>She smiles, and there's just a bit of hunger in her eyes. "I can't wait," she says, her voice seductive.</p><p>We're interrupted by two waiters arriving. One of them, the one that was here earlier, is carrying a tray with our food on it, and the other one is carrying two bottles of wine and two wine glasses. It only takes them a few moments for them to serve us our food and they disappear again just as quickly.</p><p>We don't talk much while we eat, only commenting on the food itself, which is very good. There's a tension between us though, like there was in the shower.</p><p>As we both get close to finishing our meals, I jump in surprise when I feel something pushing against my crotch. I look at Kyu to see her smiling mischievously, and I realize that it's her foot I can feel pressing into my dick. Is she getting impatient? Well, so am I, and two can play at that game. I slip my own shoe off and lift my foot up so it slips under her dress and I press it against her panties.</p><p>She narrows her eyes at me and pushes a little harder. My erection is quickly growing, and she positions her foot to line up with it so she can stimulate it more. Not to be outdone, I push my heel into her clit, causing her to flinch slightly.</p><p>The both of us continue to eat and act like nothing is happening even as we pleasure each other under the table. The fabric of the suit pants isn't very thick, and the sensation of her foot moving up and down my shaft is transmitted very clearly to me. But my own efforts are bearing fruit as well, and I can feel her panties growing wet. I kick things up a notch with [Increase Sensitivity], and she tenses as the pleasure washing over her suddenly increases.</p><p>That only serves to fuel her competitive fire though, and she redoubles her efforts. I have a moment to regret my escalation as I realize the only possible conclusion to this, but I don't care. I push back just as energetically, and I can see it on her face when she realizes it too.</p><p>We both shudder as we climax simultaneously, each of us being brought to orgasm by the foot of the other. I grimace as I make a mess in my pants, and I can see that Kyu's not happy about the state of her underwear, but more than that, both of us are flushed, breathing hard, and are looking at each other with hunger.</p><p>I slap down more than twice the cost of the food and wine on the table and grab her by the hand. [Void Travel] takes us from the restaurant to the master bedroom in my new mansion, but neither of us has a chance to look around as we instantly latch on to each other, arms wrapped around the other as our lips lock.</p><p>We stumble onto the bed even as we make out and strip at the same time. Losing my patience, I store all of our clothes in my inventory, leaving both of us naked.</p><p>Kyu pulls back, separating us for just a moment. "Tonight, I want you to use your skills. <em>All</em> of them, on their highest setting. Got it?"</p><p>"Yes ma'am," I reply and I catch her lips with my own again. Not wasting any time, I do as she says and start using my erotic skills. [Erotic Pierrot] increases her arousal, though there's not much more I can do there. [Touch of Pleasure] turns on, causing her to moan sweetly. Her hand wraps around my shaft and starts stroking me, and I don't waste any time slipping a finger of my own into her sopping and hairless snatch.</p><p>[Increase Sensitivity] causes her to moan again as her pleasure is amplified even further, and I feel her clench around my finger as she cums. I've never used both [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] at their maximum values before, but it seems it's one hell of a combination.</p><p>I use [Imbue Elasticity], and I can feel the way she's stretching around my fingers changes a little, but not significantly. Still, I take the chance to shove another finger into her, and my thumb starts working on her clit. One of her hands is entangled in my hair, and she grabs onto it tightly as I do that.</p><p>[Alter Fertility] is useless here, but I usually use it anyways just to level it up. I use [Alter Flavor] to make my semen candy flavored, and both [Erotic Dreams] and [Clean Body] are usless right now so I ignore them.</p><p>I feel Kyu cum around my fingers again, and it's not long before her hand gliding up and down my shaft at a rapid pace brings me to my own orgasm. My hips buck as I shoot my load, covering her arm and stomach in my seed.</p><p>Our lips part again, and we're both breathing hard. "Holy shit," she breathes. "Those skills are fucking awesome."</p><p>"I've been slowly leveling them up," I reply.</p><p>She raises her hand to her lips and licks some of my jizz from it. Her eyes light up at the flavor. She doesn't waste any time flipping herself around on the bed so she's laying on her side, her face lined up with my cock. She instantly wraps her lips around it, causing me to groan in pleasure at the feeling of her warm and wet mouth encompassing the head of my penis.</p><p>But right in front of my eyes is her crotch, and I pull her hips to my own face. I lift up one of her thighs, exposing her dripping pussy, and return the favor by eating her out. My tongue runs up and down her slit, and I don't waste time using [Alter Flavor] to change the flavor of her juices to the same candy flavor I changed my semen to.</p><p>She cums again as I eat her out. I keep reapplying my skills as they slowly level up from use. Not to be outdone, she starts taking more of my cocking into her mouth, and in seconds I can feel her tongue on the base of my shaft as my dick fucks her throat. She starts humming, vibrating the flesh around my shaft, and I shiver in pleasure. Feeling another orgasm rising up already, I redouble my own efforts on her slit, my tongue rapidly exploring every inch of her folds, and I pay special attention to her clit.</p><p>She cums again, squirting slightly on my face. Right as I'm about to cum, she pulls back and opens her mouth so that when I do cum, I shoot my load all over her face and directly onto her waiting tongue. She moans as she enjoys the taste of it.</p><p>With a hand, she pushes me over so I'm laying on my back instead of my side. "Enough foreplay," she says, her voice husky and needy. She climbs over me and lines herself up. "I've been waiting for this since the very beginning, and I'm not waiting a moment longer."</p><p>My only response is to lift my face to hers and kiss her, even as I put my hands on her hips and then thrust into her in one go.</p><p>She moans in pleasure and thrashes on top of me as an intense orgasm racks through her body. I almost cum myself. Kyu's pussy is unlike any pussy I've ever felt before. It's not that it's the tightest, or the best feeling, or the best anything. But it sends tingles of pleasure through me unlike anything I've felt before, and I only get hornier the longer I'm inside of her.</p><p>She lifts herself up, breaking our kiss so she can bounce freely on my dick. My hands remain on her hips as she does so, drinking in the sight of her bouncing breasts, the way her hair moves with each movement, covering her face that is twisted into an expression of pure ecstasy. Her moans of pleasure echo through the empty mansion, loud and unrestrained. Each of her bounces is accompanied by the sound of flesh slapping against flesh and a shock of pleasure running down my dick and up my spine.</p><p>I feel her cum multiple times, and each one brings me closer to my own orgasm. I start twitching inside of her, and I can tell she can tell I'm close, because she speeds up her movements, and she smiles at me, eyes hungry.</p><p>I finally cum, grunting as I fill her with my semen. She tenses up, shuddering the sensation of me filling her up, before she collapses on top of me, breathing hard. I let my orgasm peter out slowly, dick and hips twitching as I squeeze out every last drop.</p><p>"Fuck me," Kyu gasps.</p><p>"We're not done yet," I reply, and I sit up and flip our positions so she's laying flat on her back and I'm above her. My dick remains buried inside of her, and I waste no time in thrusting my hips. She starts moaning again, her walls clenching around my member as I pound into her, my actions much rougher than when she was on top. But she loves it, her moans are only growing louder the harder I slam into her.</p><p>The bed starts creaking as I straighten my back, grab her hips, and start moving faster. Similar to when she was on top of me, her whole body bounces and jiggles with each thrust. Her pussy writhes with her near-constant orgasms, and the smell of sex is heavy in the air.</p><p>The time, when I cum, I pull out and do so all over her front, covering her in thick strands of semen from stomach to face. Her chest is heaving, and I can nearly hear her heart beating, but neither of us are done yet. Our eyes meet, and we both understand that we're far from done.</p><p>She rolls over, getting on all fours, presenting her ass to me. I grab her by the hips, line my cock up with her waiting snatch, and shove myself in.</p><p>She moans as I resume my thrusting, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh louder than ever as I take her from behind. Her face is being pushed into the bed as I pound her, and her hands grip the bed sheets tight, pulling them taut.</p><p>Every time she cums she squirts, covering both of our legs in her arousal. My fingers dig into her soft skin as I thrust harder, each time sheathing myself entirely inside of her, causing my balls to slap against her clit. She lets out a scream of pleasure as she cums for the umpteenth time, and I can't hold my own orgasm any longer. Once again, I pull out and shoot my load all over here, desperately wanting to see her covered in my semen.</p><p>I barely give my orgasm time to finish though before I line myself up again and push, but this time it's her ass I force my erection into. She makes a strangled noise, half pleasure and half surprise, as my dick stretches out her asshole. It's so unbelievably tight and hot, and I groan as I slowly force myself in. Thankfully I'm well lubricated with her own juices, and I glide in smoothly and safely.</p><p>"Warn a girl first!" Kyu chides me, but she doesn't sound upset.</p><p>"It looked lonely and left out," I explain myself, a grin on my face. Before she can reply I pull back and then push forwards again, replacing whatever she was about to say with a moan of pleasure.</p><p>I haven't had a lot of anal sex, but Kyu's ass feels just as good as her pussy. Definitely different, but the amount of pleasure I feel thrusting into it is equal to fucking her pussy.</p><p>Now that she's had a moment to adjust, I start pumping my hips, slowly increasing my speed and depth until I'm pounding her just as hard as I was earlier. Her moans are sharper now, and my balls are slapping against her reddened and well-used pussy lips, leaking with cum.</p><p>With a groan I cum again, filling Kyu's ass with my semen. I don't bother stopping though, and I keep thrusting, already working towards another orgasm. A strong desire to do more comes over me, and I grab Kyu's shoulders and pull her up so I'm thrusting into her from behind with her back against my chest. I reposition my hands to her tits and start groping her. She turns her head to me and we kiss, her moans being muffled by the action.</p><p>Our tongues dance, each of us desperately wanting to taste the other as I pound into her. Her tits are soft and comfortable in my hand, and just as hot as every inch of her skin is. I tweak her nipples, causing her to tense, and I feel her clench as she cums from the action.</p><p>After a couple minutes of this, the smell and sounds of sex filling the room, and I climax again, choosing to cum inside of her ass again. I can feel my cum packed tightly in her ass, and when I pull out, it drops out of her slightly gaping asshole.</p><p>"How about we spice things up a bit?" I ask, breathing heavily, but still hard.</p><p>"What did you have in mind?" Kyu asks, in a similar state as me.</p><p>Instead of replying, I pull an item out of my inventory. The Polymorph Phallus, the realistic dildo that sends all of its sensations straight to me. I can feel myself holding it even.</p><p>Kyu's eyes widen and she smiles. "Oh hell yes," she says. "Gimme that."</p><p>I hand it over and she lays down on her side. I feel her hands as she gently caresses it and runs kisses along it. The feeling is strange, but all the better for it. Kyu, still focused on the sex toy, raises her leg in invitation. I grab hold of her leg, holding it upright against my chest, and I slowly shove my length into her pussy.</p><p>She moans as I do so, and once I'm hilted, she wraps her lips around the magic dildo before slowly taking the entire thing down her throat. I shudder as I feel myself enter Kyu a second time without pulling out. The sensation of being inside of her twice is a new level of pleasure.</p><p>The benefits to the sex toy is that she's then able to start rapidly fucking her own throat with it, her tongue doing amazing things, and my dick twitches, despite it being stationary inside of her. But that won't do, so I start thrusting. She moans around the dildo in her mouth, and the dual sensation proves too much. After just a few moments, I cum, and I swear that despite cumming multiple times so far, this is my hardest orgasm yet.</p><p>I pull out just in time to once again cover her in my semen, something she clearly enjoys based on her reaction. I hold my hand out. "Gimme," I say, too horny and eager to say more. She gives me a sultry look and <em>slowly</em> pulls the full length of the toy out of her throat, causing me to shudder and twitch with every inch.</p><p>It leaves her mouth with a popping noise, and I clench as I hold back an orgasm. Instead, take the Polymorph Phallus from her, roll her onto her back, and then shove it into her waiting snatch. As her back arches and she cries out in pleasure I line up my real dick with her asshole and push myself inside of her.</p><p>It's a little tricky fucking her with the dildo as I fuck her ass at the same time. I only have one hand to grab onto her hips after all. But I manage it, and the sensation is more than worth it. I alternate between having them thrust into her at different times so it feels like I'm always thrusting into her, and timing them to happen at the same time so I can feel both simultaneously.</p><p>She continues moaning loudly again, and it sounds louder to my ears, as if she's making up for the two rounds her mouth was too occupied to really cry out like that. I don't think she's stopped orgasming either. Briefly, I wonder if maybe using [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] on their maximum settings is <em>too</em> much. But she was very clear in her desire, and she hasn't told me to tone them down.</p><p>I cum again, once again filling her already filled holes with my seed. I notice that the dildo comes as well, something I missed when it was buried in her throat.</p><p>I pull out of her and take a breather, admiring the sight of her laying splayed on her back, chest heaving, semen covering every part of her and leaking out of her pussy and ass. But outside of being a little out of breath, I'm still not satisfied. Almost, but I have a few more goes left in me.</p><p>"I have another idea if you want to change things up a bit," Kyu says as she sits up. A length of silken rope appears in her hand, and I recognize it as the shibari rope I bought ages ago. "You know how to use this?"</p><p>I grin. "I sure do," I reply. "I've got a few masochists in my harem, so of course I took some time to learn this. Though I haven't tried it out yet."</p><p>She grins as well. "No time like the present, right?"</p><p>We spend a few minutes getting her tied up into a simple pattern that leaves all of her holes easily accessible but with her completely unable to move. We are about to stop there when I notice that there's a hook on the ceiling right above us.</p><p>I thank Serafall for her thoughtfulness, and I then use what's left of the rope to suspend the trussed up Kyu from the ceiling. It only takes minor adjustments for it to be safe for her to be suspended like this, and by the time I'm done, she's hanging her with legs spread and immobile, stomach facing the ground and slowly rotating.</p><p>"Not something I usually go for, but this isn't so bad," Kyu comments. "It's kinda like flying, but sexier." She shoots me a sultry look. "Well, come on, are you just gonna stand there and watch, or are you going to enjoy your handiwork?"</p><p>I stand up on the bed with a grin, and Kyu's eyes instantly latch on to my erection standing tall right in her line of vision. Seeing the desire in her eyes, I angle myself downwards, pointing my penis right at her. She obediently opens her mouth wide, looking up at me as she does so.</p><p>I slowly insert myself into her waiting mouth, feeling her bumpy tongue glide along the bottom of my shaft as my tip enters her throat.</p><p>I've been in her throat several times already, but there's a different vibe to it now. Before, she set the pace, but now she's entirely in my control. All she can do is move her tongue around, hum, and clamp her throat a little. She starts doing so immediately as I get my entire dick into her throat, my balls touching her chin.</p><p>I look down at her, dick twitching at her actions and at the sight of my dick completely inside of her mouth. She looks up to me, pride in her eyes, and I can tell she's waiting for me to start. So I put one hand on the back of her head, fingers running through her hair, and one hand on her shoulder. And then I start fucking her face.</p><p>She makes muffled noises as I pound away at her throat. I can feel her desperate breath from her nose on my shaft every time I pull back, and spittle starts leaking out of her mouth. But the way she's tensing and shuddering indicates that she's enjoying this even more than I am.</p><p>I don't hesitate to thrust into her like I was taking her from behind, going hard and deep, my balls slapping loudly against the underside of her chin. I reposition my hands so both of them are on her head, throwing away any illusion of trying to be gentle and continue to pound away at her face. Her muffled noises of pleasure only increase though, and her humming grows stronger.</p><p>When I'm about to cum I pull out and aim it directly at her face. She gasps for air as I shoot my load all over her face and hair.</p><p>"Okay," she says, gasping. "That was pretty hot. Also, I really dig that your jizz tastes like candy."</p><p>"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I say as I lean down to pick up the Polymorph Phallus. "Because by my count, you've still got two more holes." Her eyes twinkle, but before she can reply I shove the magic dildo into her mouth, gagging her. Once I'm sure it's secure and will stay in place, I spin her around.</p><p>Her spread legs are in front of me, trussed up and providing me easy access to both her pussy and her ass. I can feel Kyu working her throat again around the dildo, so I don't waste any time or stamina enjoying the view, instead opting to quickly sheathe myself in her wet slit once again.</p><p>I don't think I'll ever get tired of fucking Kyu. Even going this many times in a row, being inside of her is one of the best feelings I've ever experienced. No matter how many times I fuck her and fill her up, she always feels just as inviting.</p><p>I grab hold of her hips and start moving her quickly, roughly slamming into her again and again. At this point, she's more like a sex toy than a sex partner, but she's constantly cumming around my dick, her moans of pleasure muffled by the dildo in her mouth. The vibrations of her moans only stimulate me further, and I climax quickly, once again shooting my load inside of her, staining her pussy walls with my seed.</p><p>I hear her swallow as the dildo also shoots my cum into her throat. Too bad she can't taste it with it that far down her throat. But oh well. I pull out of her, angle myself slightly upwards, and then push forward into her tight asshole.</p><p>Despite the rough treatment I was just giving it earlier, it's just as tight as it was the first time I entered it. She cries out in pleasure, the sound of it leaking around the Polymorph Phallus, and I continue the movements I was doing earlier in her other hole.</p><p>I look down at her body, trussed up with red silken rope, sweat and semen on every inch of her pale and soft skin. Shudders run through her body with her every orgasm. I've never seen anything so erotic in my life.</p><p>With a grunt, I come again, my semen shooting deep into her ass for the final time. I slowly pull out, and I can tell I only have one more left in me.</p><p>I spin Kyu around again and remove the dildo from her mouth, storing it in my inventory. She starts coughing and gasping for breath as I do, but her expression is clearly one of ecstasy.</p><p>"Now that's...what I'm…talking about," she says between breaths. "You good to keep going, big guy?"</p><p>"Just one more round," I answer her. "I was thinking we do something special."</p><p>"Special?" she asks. "Is the rope not enough for you already?"</p><p>"Oh no, it's super hot," I deny. "But there's one thing I wanted to try, and I <em>know</em> you're interested. Even if you tried to hide it from me."</p><p>Her brow furrows in confusion as she tries to figure out what I'm talking about. Her eyes widen when she realizes. "Oooooh," she says. "Oh yeah, <em>that</em>." She frowns. "Is your skill even high enough for that yet?"</p><p>"We can find out," I reply. "And it's not like I <em>have</em> to penetrate you."</p><p>"True," she accedes. "Alright, fine. I did want to try it after all. But I'm going to be in charge, got it? You just lay down and let me take care of things."</p><p>"That's fine by me," I reply, doing as she says and laying down in the bed below where she's suspended. She quickly shrinks in size, the ropes falling loose around her now six-inch tall height. Her wings appear on her back and she flies down to hover over my dick.</p><p>"Fuck, it's almost twice as big as me," she says, circling my erection. I lay back, arms behind my head and enjoying the view.</p><p>"You have only yourself to thank for that. I don't think any amount of [Imbue Elasticity] is going to make things work when you're that size," I comment.</p><p>"Psh, if you max it out I could probably do something," she says. "But no yeah, if I want to get fucked, I'll have to grow a little. But like you said, you don't have to be inside of me to have some fun."</p><p>With those words she reaches a tiny hand out to caress my dick, running her hand up the sensitive skin. My dick is slick with her arousal and my cum, providing more than enough lubricant.</p><p>She wraps her arms around my shaft, barely able to create a full loop, and then she starts rubbing her body up and down my erection. It's a strange feeling. I can feel the soft spots that are her boobs, and if I'm looking for it, I can even feel her nipples, two hard points amidst all the softness of her body.</p><p>She then wraps her legs around my dick as well, increasing the pressure between us, her wings flapping and moving her up and down. My dick twitches in pleasure. It's not as good as fucking her, but the novelty of it makes it exciting.</p><p>"Kyu," I warn her. "If you keep going, I'm going to cum, and we haven't even tried sticking it in yet."</p><p>"Huh?" she says, clearly distracted. "Oh right. Yeah, let's try that." She unlatches herself from my dick and flies to the tip of it, sitting on it.</p><p>She slowly grows, constantly rubbing herself on the very tip of my dick as she estimates the size difference. She stops when she's about a foot and a half tall.</p><p>"I think this will work," she says. "Hit me with that skill again." I use [Imbue Elasticity] on her, which has leveled up a few times since we started, all the way to level 50.</p><p>She starts pushing herself downwards. At her height, she can barely fit me between her legs. But I watch in amazement as she manages to get the first half-inch of my dick inside of her, where she stops.</p><p>She looks at me. "I need help," she says. "I need you to pull me down more."</p><p>"Are you sure?" I ask, not wanting to hurt her.</p><p>"Just go slowly, I'll tell if I want you to stop," she replies.</p><p>I wrap my hands around her waist, completely compassing her lower body with my hand. She's barely bigger than a Barbie doll at this size. But she's right, I can fit inside of her with the help of my skill.</p><p>I slowly pull her downwards, stretching her out as I enter her, millimeter by millimeter. The deeper into her I get, the more I can feel her squeezing around me like a vice. Asia is tight, but that doesn't even compare to this sensation. It's so tight it's almost painful, but that only makes it feel better.</p><p>Kyu seems to be of the same opinion. Her hands are clamped to her own tits, and her moans are high-pitched as the intense pleasure washes over her.</p><p>At about an inch inside of her, I can see her stomach visibly bulging. At two inches I can see the outline of the head of my cock through her stomach, but also at two inches, I'm far enough inside of her that it's no longer a question of if she can stretch wide enough. Now it's a question of how deep inside of her I can get.</p><p>"Keep going!" Kyu cries out, orgasming again. I grit my teeth, struggling not to cum myself, and I keep pulling her down. I'm acutely aware of every single nanometer of my dick inside of her, of every point where her hot flesh clamps down on me.</p><p>"Stop!" she says as I reach the bottom of her ribs. I'm only a few inches into her at this point, and her stomach is deformed from the internal pressure. But it seems like this is her limit. "Okay, just gimme a second."</p><p>I pause, hands still wrapped around her, and I give her a moment to get used to it. She breathes heavily, but she's also nodding to herself. "You good?" I ask her after a few moments.</p><p>"Yeah yeah yeah," she replies. "It's soooo fucking good." She sounds almost drunk from pleasure. She looks me in the eyes. "Axton, I know I said earlier that I was going to be in charge, but clearly that's not happening."</p><p>"It doesn't seem like an option, no," I reply. "Does that mean you want me to take charge now?"</p><p>"I don't just want you to take charge," she says. "I want you to grab hold of me and fuck me like an onahole."</p><p>I blink in surprise, but a grin quickly grows on my face. "Can do," I reply, increasing the tightness of my grip around her. I see her face break out in a smile for an instant, and then I start moving.</p><p>I close my eyes, all my concentration on moving her tiny body up and down at exactly the right distance. Can't pull her too far out or I'll pop out of her. Can't push her too far down or else I'll go past her limit. The window I have to work in is small but doable.</p><p>The other thing distracting me is the absolute ecstasy that's focused on the tip of my dick. The heat and tightness of her doll-sized pussy are on an entirely different level. Each thrust into her sent fire through my entire being, and I could feel my orgasm building up, no matter how much I tried to hold it back. Kyu herself is moaning even louder than before, despite her currently small size.</p><p>I can feel her skin bulging under my fingers with each thrust, and I know it's not going to be long before I cum. A memory from a few weeks ago pops into my head, and I sit up. I keep impaling her on my dick as I reposition myself to where I'm on my knees and holding Kyu parallel to the ground. I'm not sure she even noticed me moving.</p><p>The next time she cums, I pull her off my dick entirely, angle myself, and let the walls fall, causing my own climax to wash over me. I cum, and spurt after spurt of sticky semen shoots straight for Kyu, who is practically insensate in my hands.</p><p>Every inch of her ends up covered in my cum. Some of it ends up on my hands as well, but that's a small price to pay for the sight I've created. Even her wings are splattered. As I feel my dick start to soften, Kyu stirs, sitting up.</p><p>"Holy shit," she says, raising up her arms and looking down at herself. "That was…" she trails off.</p><p>"Intense?" I provide.</p><p>She shakes her head. "More than just intense. That was fucking awesome!"</p><p>I laugh. "Was it worth the wait?" I ask her.</p><p>"Fuck no," she shoots back instantly as she flies up out of my hands. "We could have been having sex like that every night for the past two weeks. I wish I'd never given you that stupid quest in the first place. I expected you to go out and bang some hookers, but no, you had to go and do things all properly and expand your harem."</p><p>"You would have complained if I had done that," I reply.</p><p>"Only until we started having sex," is her rebuttal. "I wouldn't have cared after that." She sighs. "You're right though. It would have been cheap."</p><p>"Well, we're past that now," I reply. "Now we can have all sorts of kinky sex whenever we want without any arbitrary goals to meet."</p><p>"And thank christ for that," she mumbles. "But right now, all I want is a shower. You really made a mess of me."</p><p>I laugh and lean back, laying back on the bed. "I felt obligated to. And I just <em>really</em> wanted to see it."</p><p>"Yeah yeah," she says. "It was pretty hot, but now that fun times are over, it's starting to lose its appeal."</p><p>I wave towards a door. "The bathroom is right through there, feel free to use it to wash up. It's got a really nice bath."</p><p>"Yeah, I'll do that," she says. She takes off, slowly growing in size as she floats to the bathroom and disappears inside. Soon after I hear the sound of water running. I contemplate joining her, but I'm feeling tired, and the bed is so soft and warm.</p><p>I close my eyes to relax for a moment, and before I know it, I'm fast asleep.</p><hr/><p>A few hours before the sun rises I'm standing in an empty warehouse that's located near the back wall on the grounds of my mansion. There's an entire set of buildings set up for receiving and sending shipments off, mundane and magical alike. This is one of two places within the grounds that can be teleported into, the other one being at the main entrance for people arriving.</p><p>Though my [Void Travel] ignores the wards entirely. I'll have to look into seeing what I can do about that sometime. But right now, I have other business to take care of. I raise my hand and pull the Ender Dragon corpse out of my inventory.</p><p>It appears with a thump in the middle of the warehouse. It barely fits, but it does. The entire reason I'm doing it in here is that it's the only place big enough to fit it that isn't just the backyard. Serafall assured me that there are wards around the walls that make it so normal people don't pay attention to what happens inside, but I don't want to test that by butchering a giant fucking dragon in direct line of sight to an apartment building across the street.</p><p>Plus, I'd prefer if no one supernatural finds out about the mysterious dragon corpse I have either. It won't remain hidden for long, considering my plans for the parts, but the less information others have about it, the better.</p><p>I sigh. I'm still sleepy, but the Rating Game is happening tonight, and I have a lot of work to do before then. But it was hard to wake up earlier. When I did, I found Kyu, naked but clean, cuddled up to one side of me asleep. And on my other side was Yua curled up and asleep as well, apparently having come back from Momo's.</p><p>But I managed to work up the willpower to extract myself from them. I sent all of my girls a text, telling them good morning, and I told most of them I'd see them tonight. Momo had texted back already, saying she had to get up early for some Student Council business, and that she'd be present at the Rating Game tonight. Apparently, Sona and her Peerage were going to be there to watch, at Rias's request.</p><p>I wonder if Rias wants to show off. She's certainly a lot stronger now, stronger than Sona. If that's her plan, then that's fine with me. I want Sona to want my training as well, so seeing firsthand how effective it is will help with that.</p><p>I turn my attention back to the Ender Dragon corpse in front of me. I don't have time to fully butcher it, but there are really only two important parts I need right now.</p><p>I reach out with [Hemomancy] to its many wounds and start extracting its blood. I suspect I wouldn't be able to do this if it was still alive, but with it dead, the only challenge is mentally keeping hold of the sheer quantity of blood. Thankfully, I had prepared for this, and I had bought a ton of vials.</p><p>Vials are dirt cheap, coming in packs of 100 for 250 Hunie, and if you buy in bulk, you can get it even cheaper. I ended up buying 10,000 vials for 10,000 Hunie, a pretty good deal in my opinion. To my amusement, they appeared where the magic circle for other deliveries to be teleported in is at. The Mailman didn't make an appearance though.</p><p>I'm glad I bought them though, because by the time I extract all the blood from the Ender Dragon, while making sure to filter out the poison I used on it and the shards of my own blood, I'm left with 1,034 vials of Ender Dragon Blood, using thirty more vials than I owned before my purchase this morning.</p><p>There's a thrill of anticipation and excitement that goes through me as I finish storing the Ender Dragon Blood, but I tamp it down. Before I can make use of it, I have one more thing to do. I need the hide of the Ender Dragon. The meat and bones can wait, but I need the hide today.</p><p>Thankfully, [Hemomancy] once again comes to the rescue. I make sharp blades using my own blood and carefully skin the corpse. It's slow and messy work, and this warehouse is going to need some serious cleaning, but it only takes me an hour to skin it all, and I'm left with a massive amount of Ender Dragon Hide in my inventory.</p><p>Patience running out, I store the rest of the corpse back into my inventory. There's no point in letting it rot out here until I can finish the job. I send Wilhelm a text asking him to look into options for cleaning a mess like that and I [Void Travel] back to my bedroom.</p><p>"Wake up you two," I say as I turn on the light. They both grumble and slowly wake up, simultaneously stretching as they do so.</p><p>Kyu looks out the window. "It's not even dawn yet, why the hell are you waking me up?" she asks. She starts to get up, and then she flinches. "Ooh shit, I'm sore as hell."</p><p>"Because it's time," I say. "I have all the ingredients I need for the Race Change potion."</p><p>"Well yeah, I knew that," she replies grumpily. "That's the whole reason you fought that thing. I guess you grabbed some blood from it already?"</p><p>"Yep, all I have to do now is make the potion," I say.</p><p>"I guess I'd rather be present for that than sleep through it," she admits. "Alright, go ahead and do it. We'll watch."</p><p>I pull out the ingredients I need. The Race Change potion itself, of course, the first one I ever made. Next to it, I put down a vial of Ender Dragon Blood. With it being both draconic and so heavily influenced by the Void, it's an extremely important ingredient.</p><p>Second is the Gogmagog Core shard. This one isn't as important, but I did a bit of research into what a Gogmagog is, and they're apparently ancient and powerful golems used as weapons by ancient gods. While I'm not entirely sure how it'll influence my new race, it's both powerful and tainted by Void, so it'll do what I need.</p><p>Third is the pinch of Nekoshou fur given to me by Koneko, the only ingredient not connected to the Void in some way. That's fine, I have more than enough Void influence in the rest of the ingredients. This one is purely to unlock Senjutsu, and more than that, make me highly skilled at it. While it may seem like a waste, I don't have any ideas for better ingredients I can get before the Rating Game, and I have full faith that I won't regret adding this in.</p><p>Finally is the most potent ingredient of them all. The Shard of the Traveler. It's probably the most important one of all. The Traveler is the god of Light, and Light is extremely powerful. With it, you can heal, empower your techniques, and even fight against the rules of fate and reality itself. Even nicer, Light is easily transformed from its pure state to three different elemental states. Arc, Solar, and Void. This would increase my connection to yet another expression of Void, but still give me an inherent connection to two other elements. My fight with the Ender Dragon showed just how important that is, and how dangerous over-specialization is.</p><p>I toss all of them into a bowl and then infuse the whole thing with mana. The liquid glows blue, and then it glows black, and then it stops glowing at all, leaving behind a liquid so black it feels like I'll fall into it just by looking at it.</p><p>
  <strong>Race Change Potion(Void/Dragon/Light/Nekoshou/Gogmagog)</strong>
</p><p>That's a lot in a single Race Change. I wonder what it'll result in? Well, I'll find out soon. Potion completed, I look up at Kyu and Yua, who are watching with interest.</p><p>"All that's left is to drink it," I say, a little nervous. I've been building up to this for a while, but it's a little scary now that I'm here. I'm not particularly attached to the idea of being a human, but to think that soon I won't be one any longer is strange.</p><p>I think they pick up on my mood because neither of them says anything. Instead, they just watch me. I take a final deep breath, pick up the bowl, and then drain the contents of it.</p><p>As soon as the last mouthful travels down my throat, I can feel it start to take effect. It's not painful, but the sensation of my body changing is unsettling. Tingles run through every bone, muscle, and vein, and there's a feeling of things rearranging without moving.</p><p>The feeling passes within seconds though, and when I open my eyes again, I see a slew of Game windows, and not much else feels different. No, that's not true. I look down at my hands, opening and closing them. Physically, I feel more or less the same. But something has changed for sure.</p><p>"Axton?" Kyu says. "Are you okay?"</p><p>"I think so," I say, unsure. "I <em>feel</em> fine. A little nicer actually, if anything."</p><p>"Papa is like Yua now!" Yua says excitedly, hopping to her feet. I tilt my head in confusion, and when I do, I feel movement on top of my head, a slight weight that wasn't there before.</p><p>I raise my hands to the top of my head and there I feel two fuzzy protrusions. Are these what I think they are? I pull a mirror out of my inventory and sure enough, on top of my head are two black cat ears. I angle the mirror down a little and see a black tail swishing behind me.</p><p>"Huh," I say. "How about that? Well, better Nekoshou traits than something from one of the other ingredients."</p><p>Kyu snorts. "No, you're just a furry instead of scaly."</p><p>I put the mirror away, rolling my eyes. "Takes more than a set of ears and a tail to make me a furry," I deny. I turn to Yua. "What do you think, how do they look?"</p><p>"Papa is very handsome," Yua says with an approving nod. "Your fur looks very healthy."</p><p>I smile down at her. "Good, I wouldn't want unhealthy fur," I reply. I turn my attention to the Game windows that appeared. "Now let's see what the Game has to say about all this."</p><p>
  <strong>Race changed to Void Chimera</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Hidden Modifiers increased</strong>
</p><p><strong>[Void Touched] trait changed to [Void Blessed]<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Blessed] - Increase effectiveness of Void Skills by 200%. Resistance to Void. +40% affection/reputation with void affiliated beings. Masks mana and use of magic.</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Jutsu skills have been unlocked!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Unique Class unlocked!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>New Skill!<br/>[Minor Shapeshifting] - Level 1(0%)</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Slightly alter your physical appearance and form. Uses SP. Cost dependent on change.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Soul specialization detected, Class options have been updated</strong>
</p><p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 299<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Hollow Knight(99/100)[76%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 37,850 (2,498 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 100,940 (8,681 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 72,000 (5,472 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 657(757)<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 1100(1200)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 1295(1395)<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1342(1442)<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1223(1323)<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 493(593)<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 595(695)</strong></p><p>Damn, that's...a lot. My HP, MP, and SP have all drastically increased. My actual stats haven't though, but I'm excited to see what they'll look like after I level up. And speaking of leveling up, I hadn't realized defeating the Ender Dragon had brought me so close to maxing out the Hollow Knight class. Good, I'll be able to see what the unique class I unlocked is, and what's changed about my Class options. The mention of soul specialization makes me nervous though.</p><p>The upgraded trait is nice though, yet again increasing the effectiveness of my Void skills. The new skill will be useful I'm sure, especially if I can upgrade it into a better form of shapeshifting. I'm not sure where it came from though. It has to be the Gogmagog, right? None of the others have a significant relationship to shapeshifting unless being able to hide the cat traits count. Speaking of, I take a moment to concentrate on hiding them, and I can feel the ears and tail disappear. Good, that works. It'd be annoying if I had to find another way to go out in public. With a thought, I let them appear again. It's more comfortable with them out, and there's no reason not to have them visible.</p><p>And finally, Jutsu skills have been unlocked, which is even better than I hoped. Not just Senjutsu, but Youjutsu and maybe some techniques from other universes should be easily available to me now. I was going to take the Ninja class soon, but now I might not have to. Though I'm not even sure if it's still available to me, depending on how exactly my class options have changed.</p><p>"So?" Kyu asks as I close the last game window. "Worth it?"</p><p>"Oh yeah," I reply. "Just one or two of these benefits would have made it worth it. All of them? It almost makes me wish I had fought the Ender Dragon earlier. Almost."</p><p>"<em>I'm glad you're enjoying your transition so much, Champ</em>," I hear from behind me.</p><p>I tense before slumping slightly and letting out a sigh. "You've been pretty chatty lately," I say as I turn around.</p><p>"<em>You've taken an important step in your growth</em>," The Man in the Wall says, mirroring my appearance, cat features included, while he leans against the wall across the room. "<em>Your connection to the Void is stronger than ever now. Though your connection to my Void specifically has barely changed.</em>" He shakes his head. "<em>So strange to discover that there are so many Voids out there, no two of them the same. Yet, all perfectly alike.</em>" He smiles.</p><p>"Seems a bit contradictory," I comment.</p><p>"<em>You better get used to that, if you plan on continuing exploring the Void</em>," he replies.</p><p>"Right, of course," I reply, aggravated. "What do you want? I've got a busy day ahead of me."</p><p>"<em>I'm here for a special reason this time,</em>" he replies. "<em>I'd like to offer you an...opportunity. A deal, of sorts. Something that benefits us both.</em>"</p><p>I narrow my eyes. "I don't trust that for a second," I rebuke.</p><p>He shrugs. "<em>It's true. I have something that needs taken care of. Trash that needs to be cleaned up. But as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I'm sure you would think this a treasure indeed.</em>"</p><p>I don't want to be, but I find myself tempted. "What exactly are we talking about?"</p><p>"<em>A broken down Orbiter, stranded in the Void</em>," he replies simply. <em>"The Tenno aboard it is dead, but it's filled with all of their gear. I want it out, and I lack the ability to push it out</em>."</p><p>"I don't believe that for a second," I say, even as my mind races. An Orbiter? With Warframe-tier gear? Describing that as a treasure trove is pretty accurate. But it sounds too good to be true. "Also, what the hell do you mean the Tenno is dead? I thought they were immortal?"</p><p>"<em>I'm afraid they're not</em>," he replies, still smiling that creepy smile. "<em>It's not easy to kill them, as it requires some pretty specific circumstances, but it can be done.</em>"</p><p>I guess there wouldn't have been a point in protecting the Tenno on Lua if they were actually unkillable. But still, it smells too convenient. "And what do you get out of this?" I ask.</p><p>"<em>I get litter removed from my otherwise spotless self,</em>" he replies. "<em>That means more to me than you seem to realize.</em>"</p><p>"Well, that's because I still don't believe you can't do that yourself," I shoot back. But then I sigh. "Fuck it, I'll do it though. I want that gear."</p><p>His smile widens, and I flinch as he suddenly appears right in front of me. "<em>Wonderful</em>," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. My eyes widen as I feel a surge of Void, and then a yanking sensation, and everything around me changes.</p><p>By the time I get my bearings back, the Man in the Wall is gone, and around me is sleek black metal. Reflexively I use [Void Detect] only to flinch and instantly turn off the skill. [V0id Detect] detects Void, even if my usual use of it is to tell where Void <em>isn't</em>, effectively giving me a clear outline of everything around me. But when I used it just now, all I could feel was massive amounts of Void.</p><p>Putting the pieces together, I slowly look around, and realize where I am. I'm exactly where the Man in the Wall said he would take me because this is clearly the interior of an Orbiter, the spaceship used by the Tenno to move around the solar system, and what they essentially lived out of. It's cramped, and there aren't any seats, but there are monitors and displays, and a massive translucent view plate showing the outside of the ship.</p><p>My eyes widen as I look outside. The view is...mesmerizing. So many different colors weaving an intricate pattern. I watch energies flow in directions I didn't even know existed, but my mind has no issues comprehending for some reason.</p><p>"<em>Beautiful, isn't it?</em>" I hear behind me.</p><p>I manage to tear my gaze away and turn around. "Yeah, it is." I shake my head. "Distracting though. This is the Orbiter then? How'd it end up stranded here?"</p><p>"<em>The Tenno's ships skim through the Void when they travel. This one seems to have been interrupted mid-journey.</em>"</p><p>I frown. "Interrupted?" But as soon as I ask, that's when I notice. It's hard to see in the strange light coming in through the window, but the walls, ceiling, and floor have clear scores and bullet holes. "Did something board the ship?"</p><p>"<em>So it would seem</em>," he answers, causing me to frown.</p><p>"Wait, do you not know?" I ask him. "Bullshit, how do you not know?"</p><p>"<em>You do know I was...sealed for a time, yes?</em>" he replies, a tint of annoyance in his voice. "<em>This happened at that time. When I was freed, I discovered this ship here.</em>"</p><p>I continue looking around at the damage to the ship as I think about what he said. It's true he spent a long time trapped by Rell, a Tenno that stood apart from the others. For reasons that were never made clear to anyone else, Rell severely distrusted the Void from the start. After gaining a Warframe, he used his own consciousness and the Warframe to bind the Man in the Wall.</p><p>Unfortunately, this couldn't last forever, and as more Tenno discovered what they were and started using their Void powers, the burden grew too great for the weakening Rell to bear, and the Man in the Wall was once again free.</p><p>"Was the Tenno awakened from the dream?" I ask. "If so, their corpse should be here."</p><p>In place of an answer, the Man in the Wall waved their hand, and the floor next to them lowered, revealing the ramp down further into the ship.</p><p>Familiar with the layout of the ship from my long hours playing the game, I know where the Tenno has to be. I follow the ramp down and enter the central section of the ship, where the Arsenal is and where a Warframe prepared their gear for battle.</p><p>The signs of damage are far more severe here. All of the stations are broken and cut and smashed, none of them look functional. There are more bullet holes and gashes in the metal of the ship as well, as well as burn marks and other strange forms of damage. But more disturbing than all that is all of the dismembered Warframe parts strewn about.</p><p>Warframes are extremely tough things. Robots made of a strange mix of biological and mechanical parts, and the technology used to make them is incredibly advanced, even by sci-fi standards. To see them in pieces is...worrying. What could have possibly done this? My first thought is Shadow Stalker, a rogue Tenno or Warframe or something that looks like one that hates the Tenno. But I'm not sure even he could have done this.</p><p>I continue past the central room, going down the right hallway that leads behind the arsenal. I ignore the door on my right that led to the personal quarters of the Tenno. Despite it being their personal quarters, there's only one place to find the Tenno. The room at the very back of the ship, the Transference room. I come to the circular door, which is left ajar, and step in.</p><p>I find myself in a large circular room with a domed roof. In the center is a large contraption, the front of it open to reveal the chair within. Behind it, the floor gives way to an open area where white vines of some plant-like material grow. The damage is only worse in here, though there aren't any Warframe parts. Just one intact Warframe, crumpled on the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut.</p><p>But my eyes are on the center, on the chair there, the body inside of it, and the silver sword sticking out of the body.</p><p>I approach it carefully, ready for an ambush, but one never comes. I reach the body and take a closer look at it.</p><p>The Tenno looks young, as all Tenno look, forever trapped in their childhood form. Their gender is hard to tell because of that and their androgynous appearance, but I guess it's not that important. They're wearing the basic black Operator suit, and I notice the lack of an Amp around their wrist. An Amp is something that amplifies and changes the form of a [Void Beam]. But perhaps it's stored elsewhere. Still, this Tenno looks like one who just awoke from the Dream shortly before their death.</p><p>The Dream refers to the Second Dream, a deep sleep all of the Tenno were put into by the Orokin, during which they controlled the Warframes remotely from the Moon, which was hidden away. A series of events initiated by an enemy of the Tenno led to the Tenno waking up from that deep sleep, remembering that they're more than just the Warframes they piloted, and moving their bodies from the Moon to their Orbiters.</p><p>Something that didn't work out very well for this one, considering the sword stuck through their chest. I frown as I look at it. I knew every weapon in Warframe and this...this is definitely not one of them. It's a silver blade with little to no decoration and nothing but the same metal. No leather or cord around the grip, no splashes of color or other material to decorate it. The design isn't sci-fi at all either. It looks archaic and old, almost religious. Not quite a fantasy sword, but something that approaches it maybe. Curious, I use [Observe] on it.</p><p>
  <strong>Nidhogg<br/>A blade made to kill immortal beings. It has been forged with Hate for all those who defy Death</strong>
</p><p>That's...unexpected. And definitely not a Warframe weapon.</p><p>"What the fuck is this?" I ask, turning around to where I knew the Man in the Wall would be. Sure enough, I see him standing there when I turn around.</p><p>"<em>I do not know,</em>" he says impassively.</p><p>"How the <em>fuck</em> do you not know?!" I spit at him. "This was not done by something from this universe, so how the fuck is it here?"</p><p>"<em>I do not know</em>," he repeats. "<em>I explained this already. But after discovering you and those other places, I suspected it was not something from the universe I knew.</em>"</p><p>I click my tongue in annoyance. My gut is telling me that there's something he's not saying, but there's nothing I can call him out on. And I'm here already anyway. I turn my attention back to the body. The sword isn't giving off any bad vibes to me, so I hesitantly grab it by its hilt. Nothing happens, so I pull it out of the dead Tenno's chest.</p><p>When I do, the body slumps down, no longer supported by being impaled on the sword. I watch in surprise as the body then rapidly turns to a smoke-like material made of many colors, and dissipates into nothing.</p><p>"Are they...still dead?" I ask, unsure.</p><p>"<em>Tenno's bodies are a bit less...physically coherent than most mortals</em>," the Man in the Wall explains. "<em>They're quite dead, their body has simply joined the rest of the Void now that it's no longer held here by that blade.</em>"</p><p>I find myself doubting his words, despite just having seen it happen. Ugh, this is why I hate dealing with him. Every word out of his mouth sounds suspicious. I turn my attention back to the blade, still covered in blood. With a thought, I use [Hemomancy] to collect the blood and store it in a vial. Thankfully, it doesn't dissipate as well when I do so, and I'm left with a vial of Tenno blood. It would have been nice to have that before I changed my race, but I'll eventually be using a Race Change potion again, and this will be the perfect ingredient for then.</p><p>Finally, I turn my attention to the most interesting part of the room, the crumpled Warframe just off to the side. I recognize it immediately as Nyx, the psychic Warframe. It's not just any Nyx frame either, but the Prime variant, meaning it's stronger and better crafted. And to my delight, it looks remarkably intact. I guess the Tenno died before whatever killed it fought this Warframe.</p><p>My eyes are drawn to the weapons on the ground next to it, and I can't stop the grin that breaks out on my face. A Scindo Prime, a Boltor Prime, and a Lex Prime. Three extremely formidable weapons. The Scindo is a simple but massive ax, the perfect replacement for Atsuko. She'll need a lot more boosts before she reaches the level of strength required to ruin it.</p><p>The Boltor Prime is a rifle that fires large spikes of metal, and it absolutely shreds armor. The Lex Prime is a simple handgun, but it packs one hell of a punch, and it looks really good. Both would have been useful against the Ender Dragon, though there plenty of Warframe guns that would have done an even better job.</p><p>"Are the rest of the Tenno's weapons salvageable?" I ask as I store the three weapons and the Warframe into my inventory. Ammo is a concern for the guns, but it's something I'll figure out later.</p><p>"<em>If you manage to repair the armory, it should be a simple matter to access them</em>," the Man in the Wall replies. I grimace. Not an easy task considering the state they were in, and how advanced the tech is. I'll have to look into skills or people that might be able to help me with it.</p><p>I stand up and turn to face the Man in the Wall again. "Alright, you want me to get this thing out the Void, right?"</p><p>"<em>Correct,</em>" he says. "<em>And as payment, you keep the ship itself and everything in it.</em>"</p><p>A fair deal, I guess. I concentrate and confirm that I can even find my way back home with [Void Travel]. I can't use [Void Sight], but I can sense a path open to me that I can [Void Travel] along. But there's a problem.</p><p>"Me and whatever I'm taking with me need to be physically moving for my teleport skill to work," I say.</p><p>"<em>Easily taken care of</em>," the Man in the Wall replies. He raises a hand and snaps his fingers. "<em>There, I'm pushing the ship along in the Void</em>."</p><p>That should work. I close my eyes and concentrate before activating the skill again. I mentally grab hold of the ship...but I can't. It slips from my grasp. Too big, and not something the skill is designed to handle.</p><p>I open my eyes and shake my head. "I can't do it, the skill can't transport something like this."</p><p>His gaze is sharp, and I feel a subtle pressure as he looks at me. "<em>Try harder</em>," he demands. "<em>Are you really so dependent on that System of yours that you're incapable of doing anything outside of it?</em>"</p><p>"Fuck off," I shoot back. "My skills are my skills, and I can't make them do better-" I stop suddenly. Can't I do exactly that though? The Hollow Knight class gave me a trait that explicitly improves my skills with a power that the Game doesn't properly quantify.</p><p>The Man in the Wall silently watches with a smug look as I move to the Transference seat and sit down. Thankfully there's no blood left to stain it. I close my eyes and once again latch on to my own Soul. With a deep breath, I push it outwards, down through the chair, and spreading it to the entire ship.</p><p>I feel tension in my soul as I struggle to cover the entirety of the ship. My Soul is still untrained, I simply don't have much of it. But I keep pushing, my breath starting to come in gasps. I reach a point where I simply can't stretch it anymore, and it's short of covering the entire ship. But it's more than half, and that should be enough.</p><p>I can feel as the Man in the Wall vanishes, but it's an afterthought as I desperately maintain my hold on the ship. I quickly activate [Void Travel], and I can feel that it's working. With a grunt of exertion, I push, and the ship <em>moves</em>.</p><p>The yanking sensation I felt when the Man in the Wall pulled me here is amplified a hundredfold as I travel back. I feel my hold over the Orbiter slip as we arrive, the ship rumbling as it hits the ground, and I slump over in exhaustion. With no enemies to attack and recover my soul, using it like this is exhausting.</p><p>I [Void Travel] the short distance to the exterior of the ship. It's a massive and clunky-looking thing, and I grimace as I realize that my aim brought it to my backyard. Aiming [Void Travel] while outside of this world was difficult after all. I'm just glad I managed to get it within the grounds of my mansion and I didn't make it appear on top of something important. The wards will make sure no one mundane sees it, but I guess there's no hiding it from others.</p><p>I try laying my hand on it and storing it in my inventory, but it doesn't budge. Annoying. It's smaller than the Ender Dragon, and I was able to store that, but for some reason I can't store this. Whatever. I don't have the energy to try moving it again right now. I'll rest up and move it in a few hours.</p><p>"Axton!" I hear, and I turn to face the mansion. Kyu, Yua in her arms, is flying out of an open window heading straight for me. "What the hell happened?"</p><p>"It's fine, I'm fine," I reassure them as they approach. Yua jumps from Kyu's arms and into mine. "He was kind of a dick about it, but he was on the up and up. I did him a favor, and now I have a spaceship filled with cool toys, if I manage to fix it."</p><p>"You sure?" Kyu asks, concern on her face. "You look like you just ran a marathon, and I can tell your soul is a little frayed."</p><p>"Just a bit of over-exertion," I wave off as I pet Yua. "It's a big ship, moving it isn't easy."</p><p>She sighs. "Jeez, you just had to go and fucking scare me like that, huh?"</p><p>"Sorry," I apologize. "Blame the asshole voyeur though."</p><p>"Oh I do," she says, fire in her voice. "But I'll deal with him later. For now, you should rest up."</p><p>I nod. "You're right. I have a lot of crafting to do." I glance at the time. "There are only 12 hours until the Rating Game, and I need to have their new equipment ready by then."</p><p>Kyu sighs. "That's not what I meant by resting, but fuck it, I'll take it. Just no using your soul until it fully recovers, got it?"</p><p>"Sure sure," I agree. "I won't need it for this. I'll move the ship again later." The three of us head back into the mansion. Despite my words, I'd love to rest, but as it is I'm going to be cutting it close anyway. Still, I should have enough time. The gear I have in mind isn't too complicated.</p><p>A grin sprouts on my face. It's not complicated, but it's powerful. Riser isn't going to know what hit him, and by this time tomorrow, he'll regret ever hearing Rias's name.</p><hr/><p>Golden light filled Hibiki's room, the rising sun shining through her windows. Throughout the room, two sounds could be heard. The sound of heavy breathing, and a much wetter noise.</p><p>Hibiki was laying on her bed naked. Her eyes were closed, pleasure written on her face. One hand worked at her small tits, pinching the nipple on the barely present mound there. Her other hand furiously shoved a moderately sized dildo in and out of her pussy, a wet noise accompanying every thrust.</p><p>Her mind is filled with visions of the dream she just woke up, going over every detail again and again, immersing herself in the memory as she pleasured herself. She felt a slight amount of uncomfortable stretching as she used a dildo larger than what she was used to, but it's drowned out by the storm of pleasure shooting through her.</p><p>She bit her lip, muffling her moan as her back arched and she came, finally reaching her climax. Her entire body shuddered for several moments as she orgasmed, before she finally slumped down, chest heaving as she panted.</p><p>Waking up and immediately masturbating had become her new normal. Every single night she experienced the most vivid and erotic dreams, and without fail they caused her to be extremely horny when she woke up. At first, she just ignored it and started her day ignoring her arousal. But that didn't last long. Usually, it resulted in her masturbating halfway through the day anyways. It was more convenient to just get it out of the way first thing after waking up, and it felt better then too.</p><p>The downside was that sometimes it would tire her out enough that she would fall back asleep. Not that it was a big deal, wasting a bit more of her morning didn't matter whether she spent it sleeping or on her computer. And she usually woke up and did this pretty early, like she did today.</p><p>She felt herself drifting off to sleep when a loud noise caused her to shoot upright, going from nearly asleep to fully awake in an instant. She wasn't quite sure what the noise was, it sounded like someone dropped something heavy, but times a thousand.</p><p>What she <em>could</em> tell was where it came from, the new mansion that had appeared so rapidly. It had been quiet for the past few days, but before then it had been active around the clock. The weirdest thing was that when she sent an email to the apartment manager complaining about it, they had replied that they hadn't noticed any noise coming from it.</p><p>This noise was definitely too loud to ignore though. Still naked, she crawled out of bed and stepped onto the balcony located at the back of her room. It had a small wall that she could hide behind and peek over so she wouldn't expose herself. She could have thrown something on, but she didn't want to waste the time.</p><p>She peeked over the wall and her eyes widened at what she saw. Her apartment had an extremely good view of the mansion grounds, being just high enough to peer over the walls surrounding it. She also had a pretty good angle into a few different rooms through their windows. But her attention was on the grounds, and the massive <em>thing</em> that had appeared there.</p><p>Her first and only thought was that it was a UFO. There was nothing else it could be. It wasn't flying right now, but it was a huge machine that looked like it was ripped right out of a sci-fi anime. She could see what were obviously thrusters and there were lights all over it.</p><p>As she looked at it, wondering what it was and why it had appeared, she got another shock. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself from shouting in surprise when she saw a man suddenly appear on top of the ship, looking down at it. A man she recognized. Her old neighbor, and the same man that she had fantasized about in her dreams every night for the last month.</p><p>She ducked down behind the wall, her mind racing. What was he doing here? Did he follow her? Did he just teleport like he did in her dreams? Did that mean he could do all the other things she saw him do in her dreams? Was <em>he</em> causing the dreams? Did he bring that ship here? Why?</p><p>She slapped her cheeks sharply, pulling herself out of her downward spiral of endless questions. There was no point sitting here freaking out. She had to investigate if she wanted answers. She quickly went back into her room and grabbed her phone before going back to the porch.</p><p>She peeked over the balcony wall again, phone in camera mode and ready to take pictures. She nearly dropped it though at yet another unexpected sight. A naked woman with fairy wings was flying down from one of the windows, a cat held in her hands. Sexy dreams, a UFO, a real-life ninja, and now a fairy? How the hell did this all connect together?</p><p>She snapped a few pictures though just so she wouldn't be able to convince herself later that she had dreamed all of this. She kept taking pictures until they vanished, though they left the UFO behind.</p><p>She ducked back into her room, closing the door behind her. She couldn't even bring to process what she just saw. But she knew one thing. She was going to find out what was going on with her neighbor Axton.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I’m on Patreon! I’d very much appreciate it.<br/>https://www.patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton’s Character Sheet: https://www.tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I’m glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p><p>AN: Work kicked my ass right as I started to write this chapter, but I managed to push through, and big chunks of this chapter got written in a very short amount of time. I actually broke my record for number of words written in a day two days in a row.</p><p>Anyways. Before you get mad about Axton’s ‘death’, let me clarify a few things that I’m going to guess some people are going to complain about. I know a lot of people are going to think “ugh, he’s learning the same lesson from the dream,” but that’s not it. The dream about Kokabiel taught him he can’t be lazy and be comfortable with his level of strength. He’s learned that, that’s why he fought the Ender Dragon in the first place. Is he going to face anything as strong as it soon? Does he need the materials or the race change right now? No. But he felt like he could get them, so he did. He learned his lesson from that dream. And in this chapter, he learned new ones. Fight smart, fight efficiently, don’t be cocky with your level of strength, and rely on your allies more.</p><p>The Kyu scene is very much experimental. I’ve accidentally put myself in a situation where I’ve hyped it up beyond what I could possibly have delivered, and this was the best idea I had on attempting to match that hype. Not sure how well I did, feedback on it is appreciated. Still, I’m glad this is done, now I can just include normal sex scenes with her. </p><p>I’m glad we’re finally at catboy Axton. This is something I’ve been wanting to reach for ages. Why catboy Axton? Well, I thought it’d be fun. Catboys are underrepresented in general, and I liked the idea of the Rogue gamer becoming one. It may have taken over 300k words, but we’re finally here. You can check out the art of him on his character sheet, and I’ll be posting it to the QQ thread soon, though I’m waiting for another commission I ordered before so I can post both at the same time.</p><p>If you thought the Man in the Wall was acting weird, well, he kinda was. The truth is, he’s normally a pretty passive character. I’ve decided to make him a little more active, but still neutral/working towards his own goals. If his actions this chapter didn’t seem very neutral to you...well, stay tuned, and remember that he’s a conniving and enigmatic son of a bitch that can’t be trusted. Rell locked him up for a reason.</p><p>And more Hibiki stuff! She’s approaching the point where she’ll actually be relevant, but we’re not there yet. I still have a few fun things planned for her before that.</p><p>Anyways, I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks for reading. This chapter included a lot of stuff I’ve been working towards for a very long time, and it feels good to finally reach it. I never would have gotten this far if it wasn’t for all the replies, feedback, and support you guys have given me. I really appreciate it. Here’s to many more months of writing!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. DxD: Getting Into Shape 07</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>-Changed the effect of the cloak worn by the Lich boss that dropped from it to reduce the cost of dark magic instead of empowering it. I forgot that enchantments don't stack.<br/>-In the character sheet I changed "bolt of (fabric)" to count 1 square yard as 1 unit, that way I don't have to start using decimals when I only want to use a bit of it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>I knock on the heavy wooden door that [Void Detect] led me to. "Come in!" I hear Rias say from the other side, so I enter the room to find Rias and the rest of her peerage waiting there.</p><p>"It's about time!" Rias says in relief. "I thought you weren't going to make it."</p><p>"Sorry," I apologize. "I ended up going a bit overboard and it took some extra time, but I got it done."</p><p>It really is last minute though. The Rating Game is scheduled to start in just ten minutes. I had to hitch a teleport from Serafall to the Underworld where the Rating Game arena is, and then make my way down here to the waiting room. Technically, I should have come here using the train that connects Earth and the Underworld, like Rias and her Peerage did, since you have to do that when you enter the Underworld for the first time. But there wasn't time, and Serafall just brought me with her directly.</p><p>"It's fine," she says. "I'm sorry. It's just, our plans kind of rely on your help."</p><p>"The best plans do," I say. "You'd manage without me, but thankfully you won't have to. Come on, I'll give everyone their new gear."</p><p>"Sure," she replies. But then she pauses. "Wait, are you taller?"</p><p>I blink at her, surprised. "Uhh. Am I?" I ask as I compare our height. "Oh yeah, look at that, I am a little taller." Before I was the same height as her, but now I'm a couple inches taller than her.</p><p>"Are you wearing platform boots or something?" Aika asks me, the rest of them starting to gather around and looking at me.</p><p>"No, these are my normal shoes," I reply, lifting a foot up to show my sneakers. "This is probably because of the potion I drank earlier."</p><p>Asia frowns. "Is it safe to be experimenting with your own potions like that?" she asks.</p><p>I shrug. "Anything I do I can undo. I didn't expect or notice the height change, but that falls in line with what the potion should do," I explain. Changing my race came with some physical changes after all. Even if I have the obvious ones hidden right now. Right now isn't the time to explain how I have Nekoshou features right now.</p><p>It also helps that I do have a potion that can change your height as well as other physical features.</p><p>"Enough about me though, come on, I've got new toys to hand out." A couple of them look a little concerned still, but willing to put it aside for now. I start pulling things out of my inventory. First, I turn to Atsuko.</p><p>"For you, I have a new set of armor, and a new ax," I tell her, pulling them out.</p><p>
  <strong>Emperor Leather Armor<br/>Moderately revealing enchanted leather armor. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduces Fire damage by 50%. Massively increases SP Regen. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Scindo Prime</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>A weapon meant for execution, further enchanted. Deals Necrotic damage that massively resists healing. Damage grows over time and alongside the wielder and the wielder's fame. Self-repairing. Can be stored in the wielder's soul.</strong>
</p><p>Her eyes widen. "Holy shit," she breathes. "Where did you get that ax? It matches the Boosted Gear!"</p><p>"I'm pretty good at finding what I need," I reply vaguely. "And I colored it to match you. This one should be able to handle any punishment you put it through, and you can even carry it with you at all times. Pick it up and think about storing it in a pocket or something."</p><p>She grabs the ax with both hands and lifts it, the heavy weight of it only catching her slightly off guard. Even without the Boosted Gear active, she's strong enough to lift it, barely. Her brow furrows in concentration, but it only takes a moment for the ax to disappear.</p><p>"I did it!" she cheers. She holds her hand out and concentrates again for a second, and the ax reappears. "This is so cool."</p><p>"Being able to always have your weapon is important," I say. "And don't forget the armor. It'll reduce how much damage you take, especially fire damage, and it will help you restore your stamina faster, similar to the ring I let you use before, but better."</p><p>"Oooh," she says. "But I thought you said I didn't need armor?"</p><p>"You don't," I confirm. "Or at least, you won't once you get trained up more." And once she unlocks her Balance Breaker. "But for now, it'll help keep you safe." She nods in understanding, so I turn to Rias and pull out a leather dress and an amulet.</p><p>
  <strong>Golden Darkness<br/>A battle dress made of dragon leather. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduce Fire damage by 50%. Massively increases MP Regen. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>King's Amulet<br/>A simple but ornate amulet to be worn by those who lead. Grants True Sight. Grants Appraisal. Converts damage taken to MP. Can store up to 500,000 MP.</strong>
</p><p>"The armor protects you and restores your reserves of magic faster," I explain. "And the amulet does all sorts of stuff. It will let you see through illusions and most forms of invisibility, give you information about any object you focus on, restores your magic reserves whenever you take damage, and you can store your magic in it to be used later. I've stored some of my own in it for now, but there wasn't time to put more than a little in."</p><p>"The amulet is pretty and all of that sounds amazing," Rias says. "But I can't help but recognize this armor." She holds it up and then looks at me, eyebrow raised. "Is this Yami's outfit from To Love-Ru?"</p><p>"Yes, it is," I say. "I admit, I wasn't sure what would look good on you and still be decent armor, so I had to find inspiration from somewhere."</p><p>"But why Yami though?" she asks. "Or did you just search for sexy leather armor online?"</p><p>"Because I was trying to think of light leather armor that actually provided some protection and wasn't just fetish wear, and she was the first to come to mind," I reply.</p><p>"Oh?" Rias says, eyes sparkling. "That's interesting." She smiles as she examines the battle dress, and she definitely looks pleased. She hugs it to her chest as she steps back so I can give the next person their stuff.</p><p>Mission 'Let Rias subtly know I'm also into anime' is a success. Though 'subtle' probably isn't the most accurate word to use here. Oh well, doesn't matter. I turn to Akeno. "Here you are. One shrine maiden outfit that does the same thing as Rias's battle dress, and I've upgraded the staff I gave you the other day to be stored like Atsuko's ax and hold magic power like Rias's amulet."</p><p>
  <strong>Enchanted Miko Set<br/>A classic shrine maiden outfit made of Arachne silk. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduce Fire damage by 50%. Massively increases MP Regen. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Azal's Staff<br/>Doubles power and cost of spells. Can store up to 300,000 MP. Self-repairing. Can be stored in the wielder's soul.</strong>
</p><p>Unfortunately, the MP Battery enchantment's maximum value was based on the material it's used on. The tier of the enchantment just determines how efficient storing the mana is. At the Ultimate tier, each point of MP put into it equals 1MP stored, but the tier below that requires you to use 2 MP to store 1 MP.</p><p>I also found that while I could enchant the already magic staff, the effect of it doubling the cost and power of spells used up an enchantment 'slot', so I could only put three more on. But I can't break down the staff and learn the enchantment. Annoying, but not that big of a deal.</p><p>Akeno grabs the staff and immediately tries storing it. "Thank you, Axton, this will be helpful," she replies. "I'm curious though, why a shrine maiden outfit?"</p><p>"It just seems to suit you," I say. "Like that doll I gave you before."</p><p>She smiles at my words. "I'll gladly wear it then. Even if it's not as sexy as the outfit you made for Rias. I look pretty good in leather too, you know." She winks at me. "Leather and I pair <em>very</em> well."</p><p>"I don't doubt that for a second," I reply with a smile. "I'll make something special for you later. Something a bit more suited for places that aren't the battlefield."</p><p>"What sort of places?" She asks, teasing.</p><p>"The kinds of places you use a whip or a riding crop," I reply. "That's your thing, no?"</p><p>She laughs softly. "You know me too well," she replies, stepping back.</p><p>I wink at her and then turn to Koneko. "For you, a simple Gi that has the same enchantments as the others, except it restores your stamina instead of your magic. And to go with it, a pair of special bracers that make you stronger and drain stamina from your opponents."</p><p>
  <strong>Arachne Gi<br/>A simple Gi made of Arachne silk. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduces Fire damage by 50%. Massively increases SP Regen. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Brawler's Bracers<br/>Bracers made of tough leather and a small amount of adamantium. Increases STR by 100. Drains SP on hit. Massively increases damage when HP is below 20%. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>Using my low level [Shape Metal] skill to turn the adamantium ingots into what I needed was one of the slowest parts of the crafting process. But it was worth it. Adamantium plates ran up her forearms, and they'd do a lot to help reduce damage.</p><p>Koneko takes them from me without a word, but she's smiling and her tail is swishing. I can feel with [Empathy] that she's excited. I put a hand on her head, patting her in the area between her ears. Her eyes close in contentment for a second before I regretfully remove my hand. She pouts slightly, but steps back, holding on to her new gear tightly. I turn to Aika next.</p><p>"I upgraded your staff the same way I did Akeno's, and I prepared this cloak for you that has the same enchantments on it as the others, though it makes your spells cheaper rather than make you regenerate magic faster."</p><p>
  <strong>Mantle of Death<br/>Greatly reduces the cost of Dark magic. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduces Fire Damage by 50%. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p><strong>Blackened Bone Staff<br/></strong> <strong>A dark staff made of black bone. Massively increases the strength of Dark magic. Can store up to 400,000 MP. Self-repairing. Can be stored in the wielder's soul.</strong></p><p>I repaired the cloak the Lich dungeon boss dropped and enchanted it to match the rest. I couldn't fit the MP regeneration on there, but a reduced spell cost is almost as good. She takes the equipment from me, an excited glint in her eyes.</p><p>"It's a little darker than I usually go with, but the two of them together work pretty well," she comments. "I'd have preferred some sexy leather myself though."</p><p>"I'll make you a sexy leather outfit later then," I say with a laugh. "Hell, I'll make you a few."</p><p>"I'll hold you to that," she says with a wink. Finally, I turn to Kiba and hand him a bundle of clothing.</p><p>
  <strong>Dragonhide Gambeson<br/>A simple leather gambeson made of dragon leather. Reduces all damage by 50%. Reduces Fire damage by 50%. Massively increases SP Regen. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Emperor Leather Greaves<br/>Leather leg protections made of tough leather and adamantium. Increases STR by 100. Increases DEX by 100. Massively boosts damage when health is below 20%. Self-repairing.</strong>
</p><p>"You make your own weapons, so I stuck with some simple light armor for you," I explain. "The torso armor is enchanted just like Atsuko's is, and the leg armor increases your strength and speed, as well as protecting your most important asset; your speed and maneuverability." It was nice that a thin layer of adamantium is actually pretty light while still being extremely strong.</p><p>"Thank you, Axton," he says. "I've never considered wearing armor before, but magically enchanted armor that doesn't slow me down shouldn't be an issue."</p><p>I nod at him and then turn to the rest. "I have two more things to give each of you. First, your potions." I pull out six Ultimate HP Potions, six Ultimate Fire Resistance Potions, three Ultimate Mana Potions, and three Ultimate Stamina Potions. I divvy them up to all six of them, the mages getting the mana potions, the fighters getting the stamina potions, and everyone getting one of the other two.</p><p>"Each of your armor sets has a place to hold up to five potions built into it," I tell them. "Either a pocket or a holster. Don't worry, the potion vials themselves are sturdy. A direct attack might break them, but not easily. And more importantly than that, I prepared another special item." With a wave of my hand, I deposit six golden rings with the symbol of the Occult Research Club stamped onto them.</p><p>
  <strong>Occult Research Club Ring<br/>A ring that signifies the wearer is part of Kuoh Academy's Occult Research Club. Provides a telepathic link to those wearing matching rings. Massively boosts HP regen. Reduces Light damage by 50%. Detects enemies within 50 meters.</strong>
</p><p>"These are-!" Rias starts.</p><p>"I thought you'd want a little representation," I say. "I know you originally wanted to fight in your school uniforms to represent the ORC, and while this isn't as visible as that, it's still something. These will let you talk to each other telepathically, which is much more secure than using technology. It also helps you heal faster, detects enemies around you that aren't hidden by magic, and reduces the damage you'd take from Holy and Light magic."</p><p>Akeno frowns. "Why that last one?"</p><p>"Because I had room for another enchantment, and as Devils, it's your biggest weakness," I explain. "You're not gonna need it here, but in the future, you might."</p><p>
  <strong>+10 Affection with Rias Gremory</strong>
</p><p>"Thank you, Axton," Rias says again. "Not only for the new gear but for everything else. For preparing us for more than just this rating game. Hopefully, we won't ever need to do anything more than fight in Rating Games. But if we do, I think we're prepared, and that's thanks to you."</p><p>I shrug. "Just part of what I said I would do," I say. I glance at the time. "There's only a few minutes left. You guys get changed quickly, okay? And don't worry too much. Even without that new equipment, you guys are way stronger than Riser was last time we saw him. And with it?" I grin. "You guys are going to <em>dominate</em>. And after you do? Well, I've got a fancy new mansion, and Wilhelm is putting the finishing touches on a big party for us to celebrate."</p><p>"Woo!" Atsuko cheers and the other girls are smiling in excitement as well.</p><p>"Axton, you don't need to do that," Rias protests.</p><p>"Too late, it's happening," I say. "So go ahead and kick Riser's ass super quick so we can spend the rest of the night celebrating, got it?"</p><p>Everyone grins back at me, and I can feel their excitement with [Empathy]. As they all turn to go to the changing rooms to quickly change into their new armor, I turn to Asia. I give her a hug and a kiss, and I can feel her relax in my arms.</p><p>"Sorry about leaving you alone for so long," I say. "It's been a pretty busy couple of days for me."</p><p>She shakes her head. "It's fine, I had fun with Atsuko and Aika."</p><p>"I'm glad," I reply. "And also don't worry, I'll make some nice stuff for you as well, I just ran out of materials."</p><p>"You don't need to do that," she says.</p><p>"But I will anyway," I reply. "Now come on, let's go to the viewing area." I hold out my hand and she takes it. [Void Travel] brings us to the hallway outside of the viewing area. I opted out of teleporting straight in due to not wanting to risk spooking the people in there.</p><p>I open the door and make my way in. The viewing area is a cross between an expensive lounge and a personal movie theater. One side of the room is just a massive screen, right now showing a logo for the Rating Games. Inside are a number of comfortable and ornate seats arranged in groups, all facing the screen.</p><p>I see Sona and her entire peerage in one of those groups, with Yua on Momo's lap, and I wave at them. But on the other side of the room is Serafall, waving me over and demanding my attention.</p><p>"Asia, why don't you go and sit by them, alright?" I ask, indicating Sona's group. "Tell Yua I'll talk to them when I get a chance since it looks like Serafall wants me to go sit over by her. Momo and Ruroka have been dying to meet you too."</p><p>She feels a little nervous, but she nods. "Okay, Axton."</p><p>I give her a quick kiss, send her off, and go over to sit by Serafall, who is sitting by three other people.</p><p>"Axton!" Serafall says. "Cutting things a bit close aren't ya?" I open my mouth to defend myself, but she keeps going. "Nevermind that, introductions first! Axton, this is Sirzechs Lucifer, Rias's big brother and Satan in charge of domestic affairs. Next to him is Grayfia, who you met briefly, and then on the other side is Lord Phenex."</p><p>I'm always surprised by how pretty Sirzechs is. He looks like an older and genderbent Rias, and not at all the more masculine image of him I have in my head. Grayfia is still in her maid outfit, and seeing her reminds me of something. I'll bring it up later. On the far side is someone with a striking resemblance to Riser, though older, and more regal.</p><p>"I've already told you all about him Sirzechs," she says, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Like Sirzechs wasn't watching me as closely as Serafall is, if not closer. "But Lord Phenex, I'd like to introduce you to Axton. He's been helping us with a certain project lately and he's been coaching Rias and her Peerage this past week to prepare for this game."</p><p>
  <strong>First Impressions perk activated!<br/>+25 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer<br/>+10 Affection with Lord Phenex</strong>
</p><p>Lord Phenex narrows his eyes at me. Ah right, he's probably noticing the lack of magic. "Nice to meet you," I say neutrally.</p><p>"Hmm," is his only reply. "You're a human, correct?"</p><p>Not anymore, but I don't feel like explaining that right now. "I am, though I'm a little unique."</p><p>"I see," he replies. "Well, I'll hold on to my judgment until I see how the Gremory heiress performs. The fact that she trained at all is commendable. We'll see if it bore fruit."</p><p>"I don't think you'll be disappointed," I say to him. He turns his head away to look at the screen, clearly ending the conversation, so I turn to Sirzechs. "And it's good to finally meet you. Rias and Serafall have both mentioned you several times."</p><p>He smiles. "And I've been hearing a lot about you as well, especially from Serafall. I'd like to personally thank you for everything you've done, not just in helping Serafall and the Devils as a whole, but in helping Rias as well."</p><p>"Happy to do it," I reply. "And it's not like I'm not getting anything out of it, at least the stuff I'm working on with Serafall. I helped Rias because she's my friend and because some of my lovers are part of her peerage."</p><p>He laughs. "Either way I'm grateful." He turns to Grayfia. "You two have met already, right?"</p><p>"Technically, but we didn't have time to talk," Grayfia replies.</p><p>And there's the opening. "Which is a shame, because I actually have something I want to ask you."</p><p>"Oh?" she asks, eyebrow raised. "If it's within my ability to answer, I will."</p><p>"Do you have a sister or a daughter or something?" I ask. She, Sirzechs, and Serafall all tense slightly. Oh right, she came from some Old Satan faction family didn't she? I pretend not to notice their reaction and continue. "Because I know someone that is the spitting image of you, just shorter. She's even a maid as well."</p><p>I am, of course, referring to Sakuya Izayoi, the time-stopping mage I have a Companion Gem for. She and Grayfia look extremely similar, and I'd like to set that up now before I summon her.</p><p>The three of them relax when I explain why I ask. "No," she replies. "I don't have any family that would match that description."</p><p>"Just checking," I say. "I'm pretty sure she's human anyways. In fact, she's on her way to Kuoh soon, she should be here within a few days. You'll be able to see the resemblance for yourself, it's uncanny."</p><p>"Maybe she's a fan?" Serafall says. "Grayfia is super popular after all."</p><p>I try not to laugh at the implication that Sakuya is copying Grayfia when it's essentially the other way around. Or not really, since this is a real place and not just an anime. So I guess it's just a coincidence? Ugh, I don't want to get into that mess of trying to figure out what's real and what isn't.</p><p>"It's possible," I admit. "I'll ask her when she arrives."</p><p>Serafall looks closer at me. "Wait, did you get taller?"</p><p>"A couple inches yeah," I reply, wondering how often I'm going to have to answer that question. I could revert my height with my new [Minor Shapeshifting] skill, or a potion, but at this point, I might as well just stick with it. "I was experimenting with a new potion earlier," I explain.</p><p>"Ooh, you'll have to tell me about that one," she replies. Our conversation is interrupted by the screen changing its display.</p><p>"Later," I tell her, and she nods as we turn our attention to the screen. It's displaying two images. On the left is Rias and her Peerage, standing in the Occult Research Club room. On the right are Riser and his Peerage in what looks like the Student Council room.</p><p>"The arena is the school?" I ask out loud, feigning surprise.</p><p>"That was Riser's idea," Serafall supplies. "His way of making things fair, considering the difference in experience and peerage numbers."</p><p>"What's that they're wearing?" Sirzechs asks, looking at Rias. "I don't recognize any of those outfits."</p><p>"That's because I just made them today," I reply, causing him to look at me. His expression and emotions are hard to read. "Potions aren't the only thing I'm good at making, though gear like that takes considerably more time."</p><p>"I see," he replies, returning his attention. I see Lord Phenex's lips twitch downwards at the mention of potions. I don't think the details of them have spread yet, but they will soon.</p><p>Scrolling text on the bottom of the screen announced that the match has started and they're in the preparation and planning phase. I pull a tub of popcorn out of my inventory and sit back and prepare to enjoy the show.</p><hr/><p>Koneko and Aika ran towards the gym, following Rias's strategy. Koneko felt like she could be going faster, but she didn't want to leave Aika behind. A Rook and a Bishop was a good combination, but it depended on Koneko being Aika's shield.</p><p>Still, Aika had been training alongside them this entire week, and even if she was still new to being a Devil, she wasn't slow by any means, so they made good time. As they arrived at the gym, they could feel the presence of four others through their rings. Koneko also sensed their life force, confirming not only their presence but their strength.</p><p>Koneko found herself surprised. Over this past week, she had only been around Axton, Asia, and her fellow Peerage members, so it was hard for her to estimate how much they'd improved. But feeling their life force now...was Riser's Peerage really that weak? Even if these were their weakest members, it's still below what she expected. What she remembered after seeing them.</p><p>She remembered Axton telling them multiple times that they had grown a lot stronger and could take on Riser easily. And for the first time, Koneko thought that maybe that was true and not just words of encouragement.</p><p>Confident, she nodded silently to Aika, who nodded back. Their plan was already created, they knew what to do without having to discuss it. Koneko took the lead and burst in through the door, quickly assessing the situation.</p><p>Four girls stood in the center of the gym, already facing the doors as if expecting them. Xuelan, Mira, Ile, and Nel. A Rook and three pawns. That means Koneko's role was to take on the Rook, and one of the Pawns as well if possible, while Aika dealt with the other two Pawns.</p><p>She rushed Xuelan, the Rook, and threw a handful of energy at the closest Pawn, Mira. It didn't matter which. All four girls had roughly the same fighting style of martial arts or weapons assisted by fire magic. Mira dodged the fire as Koneko slammed into Xuelan's guard, but it did its job in drawing her attention, or aggro as Axton called it.</p><p>She was vaguely aware of the rest of the room being practically filled with bolts of darkness as Aika went on the offensive as well, targeting the chainsaw-wielding twins Ile and Nel. But she focused her attention on her own opponents, trusting Aika to do the same.</p><p>She was surprised again though when she discovered that careful focus wasn't required for them. She did it anyway but...they were just so slow, and their movements were sloppy. Even at this level of strength, they shouldn't be this sloppy.</p><p>Koneko dodged under a roundhouse kick from Xuelan, pushing the girl's leg even further up and pushing her off-balance. Before Xuelan could recover, Koneko twirled around to block the bo staff of Mira, ignoring the flames that came with it. They singed slightly, but that amount of damage barely registered to her.</p><p>Koneko used the chance to bury a fist in the girl's stomach, and Mira's eyes bulged at the impact. That wasn't enough to knock her out though, so she followed it up with a chain of punches. Mira, having dropped her staff, desperately tried to block and dodge Koneko's blows, but Koneko had the momentum, and she used it to her advantage.</p><p>Xuelan recovered and started for Koneko to help her Peerage member, but her desperate kick towards Koneko was too sloppy. Koneko caught it without looking and then heaved, throwing Xuelan into Mira, sending both of them flying. Koneko didn't just watch them fly though, and she was on top of them as soon as they hit the ground. She gathered Ki into her fist and then slammed it down into both girls.</p><p>Mira was knocked out instantly as the ground cratered underneath them, but Xuelan was durable enough to withstand that. Koneko gathered energy again in her fist and slammed it into the other Rook's face. Xuelan tried to block it, but she was too slow, and the ground cratered again at the impact of Koneko's face.</p><p>Mira disappeared in a flash of light, but Xuelan remained. She was barely hanging on, but she was still conscious. She was a Rook after all, but one more should do it. For the third time, Koneko gathered energy in her fist and brought it down on Xuelan, this time aiming for her diaphragm. Xuelan's eyes bulged and all of the air was forced out of her lungs before finally slumping over, unconscious.</p><p>As Xuelan disappeared, Koneko turned her attention to Aika, who was watching Koneko, her opponents already taken care of. The two girls smiled at each other, confidence soaring. Rias's original plan was to just tie them up and have Akeno bombard the building with lightning, but both of them had insisted on being given the responsibility themselves.</p><p>"<em>Gym taken,</em>" Koneko reported to Rias using the telepathic link given to them by their rings. It was strange using it at first, but it was fast and useful.</p><p>"<em>Good job girls</em>," came Rias's reply. "<em>Kiba is about to engage with some enemies. Head in his direction and meet up with him.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Got it, boss!</em>" Aika answered cheerfully, moving towards the door. "<em>We'll be there soon</em>."</p><p>Koneko moved to join Aika, a small smile on her face. Compared to sparring with Axton, those fights were nothing. As she kept a lookout for more enemies with her Senjutsu, she wondered how Kiba was doing.</p><hr/><p>Kiba dashed forward, his blade glinting as it slashed out at the two maids. Too slow to respond, they were taken out instantly, disappearing in a flash of light as they retire.</p><p>Kiba turned his attention to the remaining Pawn, Shuriya. He lifted his blade made of compressed water, Undine's Cutlass, and readies himself for another dash. Usually, he preferred to speak more, to introduce himself, and insist on a duel.</p><p>But Wilhelm had taught him better. That time could mean the difference between life and death, not just for yourself, but for your comrades as well. Honor had its place, but it wasn't the battlefield, not in that shape. Wilhelm taught Kiba to honor his opponents by fighting them seriously, with everything he had, rather than try to fight fairly.</p><p>So he didn't say a word as he dashed towards the scantily clad Pawn. Panic clear in her eyes, she raised a hand to shoot a massive wall of fire at him. Kiba judged that he could ignore it...but it was needlessly risky and he would still take some damage. Which was unacceptable when he didn't need to and they were outnumbered.</p><p>He swung his sword in front of him and released the magical force that was keeping the water compressed. It exploded out in front of him and collided with the wall of fire. Steam hissed outwards as the two opposing elements collided with each other, rendering them both blind. But Kiba still wore the ring Axton had given him, and knowing the general position of Shuriya was enough.</p><p>He quickly created another sword, going with the simple Dark Edge, a black blade filled with demonic power. He slashed out twice with his sword, feeling it come into contact with the enemy as he heard her cry out in pain. By the time the steam cleared, she had disappeared, retired from the match, and Kiba was left alone in the clearing.</p><p>"<em>Three pawns down</em>," Kiba reported to Rias.</p><p>"<em>Good job Yuuto</em>," Rias replied. Kiba smiled at her use of his first name. That meant she was especially pleased. Or worried, but in this context, he was sure it was the former. "<em>Koneko and Aika should be arriving at your position any second.</em>"</p><p>Kiba looked in the direction of the gym and spotted a flash of movement. "<em>I see them now</em>," he told Rias. He raised his hand and waved at them, and the two figures he spotted moved in his direction, coming to stop in front of him.</p><p>"Have any problems on your end?" Kiba asked Aika and Koneko.</p><p>Koneko shook her head. "No. You?"</p><p>"None at all," he answered out loud. He then switched to telepathy. "<em>What's our next move Rias?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I have Akeno scouting right now</em>," Rias replied. "<em>For now, start heading- wait. Watch out above!</em>"</p><p>All three of their heads snapped upwards, and above them, they saw Yubullena, Riser's Queen, famously known as the Bomb Queen. Her hand is already raised, and the three of them dash in opposite directions. But it's not fast enough.</p><p>There's an explosion centered on Koneko, kicking up ash and dirt.</p><p>""Koneko!"" Aika and Kiba both cried out in concern. But as the dust cleared, it revealed Koneko still standing there. She was singed and breathing hard, but she was still standing.</p><p>"What?!" Yubullena shouted in surprise from above. "That should have been enough to even take a Rook out!" She raised another hand to repeat the attack, but she's interrupted by a lightning bolt striking her directly on the chest, stunning her.</p><p>"I don't think so," says another voice. Akeno flies in above the clearing, staff raised and lightning crackling around her. "I can't have you attacking my junior like that." Akeno looks calm, but there's anger in her voice.</p><p>Kiba spied Koneko pulling out one of the potions Axton gave her, the cherry red one. She chugged it down and stored the vial back, standing up straighter as she did so. Good, the damage done to her had been fixed. And as far as he was aware, that was the only potion used so far. Which put them in a good position.</p><p>"More coming," Koneko says, voice calm despite what just happened. A moment later, Kiba felt them himself. A lot of them.</p><p>As Akeno and Yubullena started their fight in the sky above them, Ravel, Karlamine, Isabella, Siris, Ni, and Li stepped into the clearing. Nearly everyone was here, only Rias, Riser, and Atsuko were missing, with Mihae having been taken out by Akeno earlier.</p><p>Kiba created two more swords and held them at the ready. "<em>I'll take Karlamine and Siris</em>," Kiba silently communicated to Aika and Koneko.</p><p>"<em>The sword wielders, of course</em>," Aika commented.</p><p>"<em>Isabella and Ravel</em>," Koneko claimed.</p><p>"<em>Are you sure?</em>" Kiba asked as they continued to approach. "<em>Ravel might be difficult to handle, and you just took that hit</em>."</p><p>"<em>Fine now,</em>" Koneko replied. "<em>I'll distract Ravel until you two finish. Axton said she might not fight</em>."</p><p>Kiba sighed. "<em>Fine, but let us know if you need backup, got it?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Un,</em>" she nodded and agreed. "<em>Aika, be careful of twins, they use Senjutsu</em>."</p><p>"<em>Got it</em>," Aika replied, raising her staff. "<em>I won't let them get close enough to use it</em>."</p><p>A plan created, the three of them rushed forward to meet the enemies.</p><hr/><p>I smile as I watch the big group fight break out. Things had started out so similar to the Rating Game in canon that I was worried for a second, but Rias's Peerage has dominated every fight they've been in. Koneko being ambushed by Yubullena was the only damage any of them had taken at all, and unlike in canon where it KO'd her, she tanked and practically shook it off. And she used the potion, something that didn't escape anyone's notice.</p><p>"That is not a Phenex Tear," Lord Phenex comments, confusion clear in his tone.</p><p>"It is not," I confirm, causing him to look at me and narrow his eyes slightly. I can see him processing things in his head.</p><p>"I see," he replies cooly, returning his attention to the screen. [Empathy] reads a mess of emotions from him, mostly confusion and worry, but they're relatively low level.</p><p>"You certainly did a good job training them up," Sirzechs comments. "I'm especially surprised to see Koneko like that."</p><p>"I helped talk her through her issues with her Nekoshou heritage," I reply. "She just needed a little push."</p><p>Sirzechs makes a vague noise of agreement but changes the subject. "That potion she used…" he starts.</p><p>"I thought this would be a good chance to do some advertising while helping them out," I answer his unspoken question. "It's a little hard to show off in a sales pitch."</p><p>Sirzechs chuckles. "That is true." He perks up. "Oh? It looks like Akeno just won her fight, though she looks a little tired now."</p><p>Sure enough, on the screen is Akeno, staff raised and breathing hard. Yubullena is falling from the sky, but she disappears in white light, retiring. Things are wrapping up on the ground as well. Koneko finished up her fight quickly due to the fact that Ravel ignored her attempt at provoking her and was standing by, watching the fight. So Koneko went to assist the other two to finish their fights. Aika looked like a character straight out of a bullet hell game with how many Dark Missiles she sent all over the place, and Kiba's strikes were fast and decisive.</p><p>All during the match, I've felt surprise and pride coming from Sona's group on the other side of the room. [Sound Domain] has let me pick up their murmurings as well, and overall they're extremely surprised by how well Rias is doing. They've asked Yua and Asia a few questions, which they've answered to the best of their abilities. Asia's been far more helpful than Yua in that regard though.</p><p>As I watch, Koneko throws one of the twins into Aika's barrage, and Kiba's sword, segmented and coiling like a whip, reaches out and strikes Karlamine. As those two retire, the only members of Riser's Peerage left are Ravel, who is still standing and watching from the sideline, and Riser himself, who still hasn't appeared.</p><p>"I admit," Lord Phenex speaks up. "It seems like you did a commendable job training Gremory and her peerage. They've all come a long way to so easily match Riser's Peerage, who have experience in professional Rating Games."</p><p>"They worked hard," I reply. "They deserve most of the credit."</p><p>"True," he agrees with me. "You cannot grow stronger without working for it. Something Riser has yet to learn."</p><p>I blink in surprise, not expecting to hear Lord Phenex talk badly about his own son. But it's Sirzechs who speaks up.</p><p>"It's a problem common in the past few generations," he says. "With us at peace, the Rating Game is the only source of motivation for many Devils. And Riser has been performing well so far by relying on the Phenex Clan regeneration, so he's content."</p><p>Lord Phenex nods in agreement. "That is precisely the issue." He looks at me. "Did you come up with a counter for that, I wonder?"</p><p>I grin. "Keep watching and find out," I reply. "They should be moving on to the final phase of their plan now."</p><p>We both turn to the monitor as three more people arrive at the clearing. From one side comes Rias and Atsuko. Atsuko already has her Boosted Gear out. If she's followed the plan, she should be at five boosts right now.</p><p>Riser flies in from the other side, wings of fire on his back. He looks livid.</p><p>"Finally deciding to show yourself, Riser?" Rias asks, yelling across the clearing.</p><p>"You have no room to talk, you've only just arrived yourself," Riser shoots back.</p><p>"But I'm not the one losing Peerage members like flies," Rias replies, causing Riser to grow visibly angrier.</p><p>"It doesn't matter," he says. "Even if you've improved a little, you can't defeat me."</p><p>Rias narrows her eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure of that," she warns him. "Everyone!" she shouts, getting the attention of her Peerage. "You know the plan, it's time!"</p><p>As one, everyone nods and pulls out their potions. First they all down the orange one, the Ultimate Fire Resistance potion, and then they use their MP or SP restoring potions depending on what they have. Riser's eyes widen as he sees this.</p><p>"What- what is this?" he demands, confused.</p><p>"Potions," Rias says as she finishes downing her own Fire Resistance potion. "From our dear friend and teacher, Axton."</p><p>
  <strong>-12 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>I grin. Excellent. That put me at negative forty-seven Affection total.</p><p>"That lowly human?" Riser asks, fury. "The one who disrespected me?"</p><p>"Lowly? He's a thousand times better than a guy like you," Atsuko says, speaking for the first time." The others have finished drinking their potions and are fully topped up again, ready to go.</p><p>"We'll see about that," Riser says. "But for now, <em>burn</em>." He raises his hand and unleashes a gout of flame at Atsuko and Rias. I feel Sirzech tense slightly as the flames wash over her, but when the screen clears, she's untouched, the potion doing its job in protecting her completely.</p><p>With that opening move, things kick off. Rias, Akeno, and Atsuko start fighting Riser in the air. Aika, Koneko, and Kiba all go for Ravel. Their goal is just to keep her busy. As I 'predicted', Ravel's heart really isn't in the match, and so she's not doing much more than dodging.</p><p>But Riser is. Huge bursts of flames continue to shoot out, but they do nothing to the Devils attacking him, something that is visibly frustrating him.</p><p>"You didn't mention those potions," Serafall says, pouting slightly.</p><p>"I mentioned that I had some that I wasn't ready to sell in large numbers yet," I counter. "That's one of those. I still had more than enough ingredients to give each of them one though."</p><p>"How long do they last?" Sirzechs asks, and I can feel Lord Phenex's attention on us.</p><p>"About twenty-two minutes," I say. "But I'm improving their duration all the time."</p><p>He rubs his chin in thought. "That's not bad at all. More than enough to cover most fights that aren't huge battles."</p><p>We turn our attention back to the fight. Akeno and Rias's spells are hitting him, with shards of ice, jets of water, and the Power of Destruction laying into him. But he just healed those easily. Too bad I can't use [Observe] through the screen and check his MP and SP levels.</p><p>The main issue is that Atsuko isn't hitting him with her ax. Her stats eclipse his, but...she's still <em>really</em> bad at flying. She's only been a Devil for a little over a week after all, and while Aika has picked up flying decently quickly, Atsuko has not. An aerial battle is a disadvantage for her, she's practically flailing about. I can see Rias and Akeno notice this, and they attempt to ground him, but he just ignores their attempts, focusing on dodging Atsuko's ax.</p><p>Why he's dodging, I'm not sure. Can he feel that it's dangerous to him? It does radiate a pretty nasty feeling.</p><p>"Rias!" Atsuko shouts. "Let me boost one more time!"</p><p>"No!" Rias shouts. "Promote to Knight instead!"</p><p>Atsuko grimaces, but she does so. I agree with Rias's decision though. There's a reason I limited her to just five boosts, and that's so she doesn't put her teammates at risk.</p><p>The necrotic enchantment is pretty nasty, and she's still not experienced at fighting above five boosts. We've done a bit of practice, but past that she starts losing control. All she needs is more experience, but that wasn't something we could cram into a week.</p><p>With her lack of experience, fighting in close proximity to her teammates is dangerous with an ax like that. But the promotion to Knight seems to be helping, refining both her speed and her control, and she's quickly getting the hang of it.</p><p>Riser has to know something is up with the ax because as Atsuko gets closer to landing a blow on him, I can see him get more nervous.</p><p>Finally, she lands a glancing blow on his stomach and I can feel a charge in the air here in the viewing room as it doesn't immediately heal. Riser's eyes widen as he touches the wound and then brings his blood-spotted hand closer to his face.</p><p>"What is this?" Riser asks, voice shaking slightly.</p><p>"That 'lowly human' gifted me this ax to defeat you," Atsuko said.</p><p>
  <strong>-15 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>Riser's expression of fear turns to one of pure rage. "How much is he going to interfere," Riser seethes. "I won't stand for it!"</p><p>He dashes straight for Atsuko, fist raised ready to strike her. I grin. That's checkmate. Atsuko tenses and tanks his punch with her Iron Body technique, only to immediately retaliate with a slash of her ax. And then another. And another. Riser is caught in a chain where Atsuko cuts him to ribbons with the enchanted Scindo.</p><p>Each wound is shallow, but blood is flowing freely down his limbs and body. And each attack keeps Riser too off-balance to dodge the next one. This only worsens when one of her blows knocks him out of the sky, and the fight moves to the ground.</p><p>After that, it's only a few short moments until Riser is laying on the ground, too weak to get up. Moments before he passes out, I crush the item in my pocket I had ready for this moment.</p><p>
  <strong>Hate Crystal Used<br/>-25 Affection with Riser Phenex</strong>
</p><p>With that, the stage is set, and I can only hope my gamble pays off. As Riser passes out from blood loss, the announcer declares the match over, and Rias the winner.</p><p>
  <strong>Quest Completed!<br/>Fall of the Phoenix<br/>Objective: Train Rias and her Peerage and have her win her Rating Game<br/>Bonus Objective: Get her entire peerage above Level 100<br/>Bonus Objective: Ger her entire peerage above Level 150<br/>Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer<br/>Bonus Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer, 1 Phenex Tear<br/>Bonus Reward: +10 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer, +10 Affection with Grayfia Lucifuge, 2 Phenex Tears, [Devil Magic]</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 50 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer<br/>[Authority's Affection] - Increases Affection gain with leaders by 20%</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/>Skill rewarded for 100 Affection with Rias Gremory<br/>[Power of Destruction] - Level 1(0%)<br/>The powerful destruction magic of the Bael Pillar Clan. Can be shaped into any form.</strong>
</p><hr/><p>Five minutes later Rias and her peerage have arrived at the viewing room and are excitedly chatting with us. Rias and Akeno are talking to Sirzechs, Grayfia, Serafall, and Lord Phenex, and the others are talking to Sona and her Peerage. I decide to finally go talk to them while I have this chance.</p><p>"-secret training?" I hear Sona asking as I approach them.</p><p>"Axton doesn't really want others to know how he trains," Atsuko says, almost apologetically.</p><p>"It's fine," I interrupt, surprising everyone. I guess none of them noticed me approaching. "I trust Sona, I don't mind her finding out." I turn to Sona, making sure that my words won't be heard on the other side of the room with [Sound Domain]. "I have access to several pocket realities filled with pseudo-monsters that empower you when you defeat them. I put them through their paces in one of those, empowering them and teaching them how to fight in groups in a real combat situation."</p><p>I feel shock from all of Sona's peerage as they process that. Yua takes the chance to leap out of Momo's arms and take her place on my shoulder. As a Palico, she's a little big to be up there, but she seems content, so whatever.</p><p>"What, what are these spaces like?" Sona asks, clearly struggling to wrap her head around it. It's a pretty broken ability after all.</p><p>"We trained in a forest filled with a bunch of types of monsters," Atsuko explains. "Bears, mushroom guys, gryphons, a big walking tree, a few different kinds of bugs, things made entirely out of plants. A bunch of stuff really."</p><p>"If you'd like, I can show you sometime," I say. "I was actually going to ask if you want training as well. I've seen your training already, and it's solid, but some real combat against monsters is invaluable. And I'd like to treat both you and Rias equally."</p><p>She looks at me, emotions swirling in a mess. "I'll….I'll think about it." She says.</p><p>I shrug. "We can figure out details later. Without a time limit, we'd probably want to schedule things differently, and there's no rush." There's a little bit of a rush actually, as I want to make sure I train them up before Kokabiel arrives. But we're at least a couple weeks out from that.</p><p>[Void Detect] picks up something and I tense. It's showtime. I turn to face the door the instant before it slams open, revealing an angry Riser. He and his peerage had appeared in the medical bay and had not come directly here with Riser. Even Ravel had gone there, despite not receiving any damage.</p><p>"You!" he shouts, finger pointed at me.</p><p>"Me!" I agree with exaggerated excitement.</p><p>"Riser, what is the meaning of this!" Lord Phenex demands, anger in his voice.</p><p>"The meaning of this?" Riser asks, and it's clear that his anger is practically making him hysterical. "The <em>meaning</em> of this is that <em>mongrel</em> interfered with the Game, and if you think I'll sit by and act like that sham of a Game was within the rules, then you are a fool!"</p><p>There's a faint feeling of pressure in the room as Sirzechs narrows his eyes. "Are you accusing Rias of cheating then?"</p><p>Riser, with so much confidence it can really only be called stupidity, looks Sirzechs straight in the face as he replies. "I am! That abomination of a weapon that shouldn't have been allowed aside, only two healing items are allowed in a Rating Game, and she used at <em>least</em> a dozen."</p><p>And that's my cue to step in. "Wow, you're wrong three times over," I comment. "Pretty impressive." He turns his attention to me, glaring. "First, only one healing item was used by Rias. Specifically, it was used by Koneko. The other potions they drank either restored their magic or stamina and protected them from all forms of fire and heat. Secondly, the only restriction on healing items is <em>explicitly</em> a restriction on Phenex Tears. Third, that weapon is perfectly legal as well, as there are no restrictions on weapons you can use. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's against the rules."</p><p>"You know as well as I do that whatever it is you used should be just as restricted as Phenex Tears," Riser seethed. "The fact that you're blatantly exploiting a loophole like that is not something that should not be allowed."</p><p>"And it won't be," Sirzechs says, voice authoritative. "Axton's potions are still extremely new to us. In fact, I don't believe he's even started selling them yet. So there's no way we possibly could have adjusted the rules to account for them."</p><p>"So you agree that this Game was Rias's loss due to disqualification?" Riser asks. "Or at the very least, invalid?"</p><p>"No," Sirzechs responds firmly. "Axton is right. There are no rules about it at this time. Rias making use of them is perfectly valid."</p><p>Riser shakes with anger. "This blatant favoritism-"</p><p>"It doesn't really matter anyway," I interrupt. "Even without the potions, they would have won. Of course they would."</p><p>Again, he directs both his attention and anger at me. "And what do you mean by <em>that</em>?"</p><p>"I mean there's no way a group of young Devils who worked hard wouldn't beat you, who probably sat on his ass all week, not even contemplating training," I shoot back. "Maybe if you spent more time training your peerage rather than indulging in them, you wouldn't be such a disappointment." I shake my head. "It's a shame too, your peerage has such good potential. But under someone like you, they'll never reach that."</p><p>His fists are clenched and shaking with anger. I'm surprised I didn't lose more Affection, though I guess it's pretty low already. I'd likely need more than just words to decrease it more. Not that I want to. It's already more than low enough for him to be suitably irrationally angry at me.</p><p>"I won't stand here and accept this slander from you," he retorts. "What does a good for nothing human like yourself even know?"</p><p>"I know that I was able to train Rias and her peerage to this level of strength in just a week," I start, letting some anger leak into my voice, though all I really felt was excitement as I reached the crucial stages of my plan. "I know that the only difference my potions made was how many people she had left by the end to kick your ass with. I know that you're so arrogant and dependent on your so-called 'immortality' that you don't feel the need to train your peerage."</p><p>"You-" he starts, but I cut him off.</p><p>"And most importantly of all, I know that I could personally take you and your entire peerage on single-handedly, without the use of a single potion," I say. There's a pause in the room as everyone hesitates, not having expected that. It's an obvious bait, anyone with a lick of sense can see that. Which means Riser misses it entirely.</p><p>"Oh, <em>could</em> you?" he asks, smiling through his fury. "Who's the arrogant one now?"</p><p>"Still you," I reply casually. "Like I said, your peerage has potential, but it's squandered in your hands."</p><p>"Then how about we test out this <em>theory</em> of yours," he says. "Right here, right now. A Rating Game between me and my Peerage against just you. No potions or Phenex tears."</p><p>"I'd love to," I reply, smiling. Riser sees it as arrogance, but I can tell the others recognize it as the jaws of the trap closing around his leg. "Any other demands? You're not going to ban my familiar too, are you?" I indicate Yua on my shoulder, and she unsheathes her claws aggressively. "Or would you like me to tie one hand behind my back? If I tie both it might actually be a challenge."</p><p>"Just one more thing," Riser says, ignoring my provocations. "As punishment for all that you've said and all that you've done, I want one thing from you when you lose."</p><p>Ah, he makes this so easy for me. "Name it," I tell him.</p><p>"Those potions of yours, you're going to be selling them?" he asks.</p><p>"I'm in the process of setting up a storefront for them now and preparing to produce them in large enough quantities to sell, yes," I reply.</p><p>"Don't bother with all that," he says. "Because when you lose, all of your potions are going to be sold through <em>me</em>, and <em>I'll</em> be collecting the profits."</p><p>"<em>You</em>-" Serafall starts, fury clear in her voice. "Do you have <em>any</em> idea of what you're saying?"</p><p>"It's fine," I reply. "He doesn't know, but it doesn't matter." I make eye contact with Serafall as she turns to look at me. I can tell why she's angry. Riser is trying to gain control of even my Fertility potions and the deals I have arranged with the other factions. But neither of those are public information, or even hinted at. Riser is asking for far more than he realizes.</p><p>But Serfall isn't an idiot. She might not know exactly how strong I am, but she has clues, and she should best recognize the manipulating I've done to get Riser to this point. She might not know what I'm aiming for, but she knows I'm after something. Or hell, maybe she has guessed it. She's fairly good at reading my intentions after all.</p><p>After studying my face for a minute, she sighs, and the anger leaks out of her. "Fine, nevermind."</p><p>I nod at her in thanks and turn my attention back to Riser. He seems a little confused at the interaction Serafall and I had just now, but his anger is still the most prominent emotion of his by far.</p><p>"You do realize that I'm not going to agree to something like that unless you put something of equal value on the line, right?" I say.</p><p>"Name it," he repeats my own words at me with an angry grin.</p><p>"I want your peerage," I say simply.</p><p>The room goes quiet as every single person besides Serafall looks at me in surprise. Serafall just sighs, but she doesn't feel angry or annoyed. There's a tension in the air as everyone processes the fact that I, an apparent human, just demanded Riser's entire Peerage, which included his sister.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Riser says in a quiet voice shaking with rage.</p><p>"Lazy <em>and</em> deaf huh?" I ask. "Your Peerage. If you lose, I want them. If your Peerage can be taken out by a single 'lowly human', then obviously you have failed them as a leader, and you don't <em>deserve</em> them. I'll take them, train them up to meet their potential like I did Rias, and show you what a fool you are."</p><p>Riser shakes with anger as he stares at me. This is it. This is where my plan succeeds, or all I've worked for comes to nothing. And it's frustratingly out of my hands. Still, I've stacked things heavily in my favor, so all I can do now is wait for his answer.</p><p>"Fine," he replies, and it's a struggle to keep my elation contained. I've done it. "It doesn't matter what ridiculous thing you demand. So you can make a few potions, it doesn't matter. You're just a human, and we'll crush you." He turns to his father and the two Satans. "Ten minutes. We'll be ready then."</p><p>With those final words, he storms out of the room. Lord Phenex immediately turns to the rest of the room.</p><p>"I'm sorry about his actions," he apologizes with a slight bend of his head. "It's his first loss that isn't a resignation, and it's probably the first Rating Game he truly cared about. I will go talk to him, get him to stop this foolishness."</p><p>"It's fine," I say. "Isn't it better this way? Just earlier you were saying he relies too much on the Phenex regeneration. And it seems like even his loss wasn't enough to teach him better. So this is a good chance for him to learn the lesson <em>properly</em>. I can make sure of that."</p><p>He looks unsure. I can tell he's tempted, but that the whole affair doesn't sit right with him. "What are your intentions for his Peerage?" he asks. "You are aware that my daughter is his Bishop, correct?"</p><p>"I am," I reply. "And my intentions are exactly what I said. To train them to their potential. They're a full peerage with a good mix of skills. None of them have Sacred Gears or amazing talents, but with the right training, they can be a formidable team." I shrug. "It also wouldn't hurt to have a more solid connection to the Devils, and actual Devils to represent me. I'm good friends with both the Sitri and the Gremory heiresses, but they have their own interests and priorities. Having a team to be my official liaisons with the Underworld that could potentially represent me in Rating Games is something that could be useful."</p><p>He still looks unsure, so I continue. "It doesn't have to be forever either," I allow. "After a certain period of time, I'd be willing to make a deal to give them back or come to some sort of arrangement with the Phenex clan. At least a couple years, which is practically nothing in the long term. And your daughter would get the best training I could give her during that time."</p><p>Not all of the uncertainty has left him, but that seems to have addressed his biggest concerns. "Very well. If the Satans are willing to let this happen, then so am I."</p><p>"Sure, sounds interesting," Serafall responds flippantly, but she shoots me a quick look. I'll be hearing from her about this later I'm sure, though hopefully, it'll just be her asking for the full story.</p><p>Sirzechs is more serious in his answer. "Normally I wouldn't allow this. A Rating Game between a single human against a full Peerage? Not to mention that Axton isn't keyed into the safety mechanisms due to his lack of Evil Piece." He sighs. "But both of them agreed to it, and I believe it's a match worth having. So I'll allow it."</p><p>Lord Phenex nods. "In that case, I will still go talk to Riser. I have plenty of things to say to him."</p><p>"Before you go," I stop him. I pull out a bag from my inventory and offer it to him. "In here are potions that restore stamina, enough for his entire Peerage. Even if they've been healed, they just got through a Rating Game and are bound to be tired. This will help, and it'll help keep things fair."</p><p>He studies my face for a moment before he takes the offered bag.</p><p>
  <strong>+16 Affection with Lord Phenex</strong>
</p><p>"Thank you, that is very courteous of you," he says. I nod in reply, and he turns to leave.</p><p>I turn to face the rest of the room. "Well, I guess I better get ready. Where should I go?"</p><p>"What the <em>hell</em> are you doing Axton?" Rias says before anyone else speaks up. She sounds angry, but [Empathy] paints a different picture. There are a lot of conflicting emotions, too much of a mess for me to make sense of, which probably means she has no idea what to do with them either, so she's getting a little excited.</p><p>"I have no idea what you're talking about Rias," I reply coolly.</p><p>"Don't play dumb with me," she fires back. "That was the most obvious bait I've ever seen."</p><p>I sigh. I guess it's too much to ask that my manipulation goes entirely uncommented on. "Look, he pissed me off, okay?" I lie. Truthfully, I didn't care about him one way or the other. True, there was no way I was going to let him get his hands on Rias or any of her Peerage, but I wasn't angry at him for trying. I mean, I'm aiming for them, same as he is.</p><p>"He came here trying to get his dirty hands on you, Atsuko, Aika, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba," I say. "And not only that, he didn't train a single bit. He didn't take this seriously, and he doesn't take his peerage seriously. It's not a lie when I say it pisses me off to see him squandering their potential. So yeah, I egged him on a bit. He obviously didn't learn his lesson yet, so who better to teach him than me."</p><p>Rias calms down a little, but she still looks annoyed. "And his Peerage?" she asks.</p><p>I shrug. "I had to ask for something big to even come close to matching what he asked of me," I replied. "And getting those girls the training they deserve was the first thing to come to mind."</p><p>She sighs. "So you're not doing this for me?" she asks.</p><p>"Nope," I reply. "This is purely for my own benefit. I don't need to do anything for you. You won, you're free." I sigh. "This is going to delay the celebratory party a bit though. I'll try to take care of things quickly."</p><p>"Speaking of," Serafall jumps in. "Let me show you where you need to be for the start of the Game," she says, grabbing my arm. "I'll leave the setup to you Sirzechs!" She calls back as she drags me out of the room. I give a quick wave goodbye to everyone as the door closes behind us.</p><p>"Is it time for my interrogation?" I ask as we quickly walk through the hallways.</p><p>She rolls her eyes. "No, I got the gist of it. You're horny, you want his hot peerage, and maybe some of what you said about him pissing you of is true. You've been riling him up since you first met him just so he'd agree to those terms."</p><p>As I thought, her ability to guess my motives is scarily good. "Mostly right, but I do want his peerage for more than just their looks. Though it's mostly Ravel I'm interested in. She's the key part in building my potions shop. She can help me figure out the market price for them and help manage the business sides of things."</p><p>She shoots me a look as if she's reevaluating me. "I see," she replies. "Still, there were other ways you could have gotten her."</p><p>"Maybe," I admit. "But this way lets me punish Riser for threatening to put his hands on <em>my</em> girls."</p><p>"There were other ways of handling that as well," Serafall comments.</p><p>"None that didn't require me calling in some sort of favor from you," I reply. "Or at least, none that were less drastic than this one. This was easy to arrange and was something I could do entirely by myself."</p><p>"That's true I guess," she says with a sigh. "It's just going to be a bit of a pain in the ass. You really had to ask for his whole peerage, didn't you? You know what a nightmare that's going to be? A human taking the Peerage of a pureblooded Devil?"</p><p>"Don't worry," I reply as we come to a stop. "I feel like that won't be as much of an issue as you fear."</p><p>She narrows her eyes at me. "You have something planned."</p><p>"A special surprise," I confirm with a smile and wink.</p><p>She sighs. "Of course," she says. "You better hope it leads to less of a headache for me."</p><p>"Don't worry," I reply with a confident grin. "Once this match goes public, me taking his Peerage won't be what they talk about."</p><p>"I hope you're right," she replies. She waves at the door. "Go inside, stand on the teleportation circle. In three minutes it'll bring you to the arena. It'll probably be the school still, there's not enough time to switch it." She starts to turn to walk away but stops. "And Axton?"</p><p>"Yeah?" I ask.</p><p>"Don't overdo it, okay?" she asks.</p><p>I grin, showing plenty of teeth. "No promises."</p><hr/><p>Back in the viewing room, everyone watched the monitor, waiting for it to change. Serafall had just arrived after showing Axton where he needed to be, but Lord Phenex hadn't come back.</p><p>There was a weird energy in the air. Asia and Rias and her Peerage weren't nervous, not really. Even they weren't sure exactly how powerful Axton was, but after facing Riser themselves and having so little trouble, they were confident that Axton wouldn't have a problem.</p><p>Sona and her Peerage were less sure. They'd seen so little of Axton's combat prowess, that they had no idea if this was something he could do or not. But he seemed confident, and the others didn't seem worried, so they decided to just settle in and see. They were a little nervous, but more than anything they were expectant.</p><p>"How do you think he'll open?" Atsuko leans over and asks Aika. "My guess is that he'll just blitz them with his speed, hit them all before they even know what's happening."</p><p>Aika contemplated that. "Maybe. I think he'll use his spells more. His teleportation and that beam of his are a pretty good combination. It's practically the only thing he used in the dungeons."</p><p>Koneko shook her head. "Won't need it," she says. "Atsuko's right, he's strong enough to just blitz them."</p><p>Rias chimes in. "No, I think Aika has a point. That beam of his is even stronger than my version of it using the Power of Destruction. A few seconds of that could wipe out everyone but Riser and Ravel." She grimaces. "It'd be pretty gruesome though."</p><p>"How do you think he plans on handling Riser?" Kiba speaks up. "I know he has holy weapons. And that one potion he discussed as a possible plan for us to use. Oh, but I guess he can't use the potion."</p><p>"Probably the holy weapons then," Rias says.</p><p>Sona listened in on their conversation with a frown on her face, wondering if Axton was not only so powerful but also flexible enough to have a multitude of options when facing so many enemies alone. Or mostly alone. He had Yua, but Sona was even less sure about her abilities. Even if she looked different than the last time she had seen the kitten. Much bigger for one, and bipedal now. Yua had mentioned using magic tools when they had been talking earlier, but what exactly that meant, she didn't know.</p><p>They'd talked about Axton and his training then too. Admittedly, it was mostly Momo and Ruruko asking Asia and Yua about Axton's training methods. She'd been surprised to hear that he sparred with all of them, matching and even surpassing all of them in their specialties. They'd sparred a bit, that one time he had joined her Peerage for training, and he had seemed competent, but not that amazing. She could only conclude that he was holding back then. But she wasn't sure why he would.</p><p>"Looks like we're about to find out," Akeno says, drawing everyone's attention back to the screen, which had just changed to show a split screen again. On one side was Riser and his Peerage, once again situated in the Student Council Room.</p><p>Sona didn't like seeing him in there, even if it was just a replica. Riser was arrogant and disgusting and seeing him have free range of the place she considered hers irritated her. Though her attention was quickly drawn to the faces of his Peerage. They looked...annoyed? Nervous? It was obvious that they didn't expect or appreciate the second Rating Game right after losing on.</p><p>Though none of them looked tired, which meant they'd likely accepted the potions Axton had given them. She wasn't sure they would. Riser definitely wouldn't have, not with how angry he was. But the Lord Phenex either overrode him or gave them to his Peerage without Riser noticing.</p><p>"Where's Axton?" Momo asked. Sona looked at the other side of the screen, where the Occult Research Club room was shown. But as Momo had noticed, it was empty.</p><p>"Did he leave already?" Sona asked. Leaving during the preparation phase was fine, but seldom done. Granted, there probably wasn't much strategy Axton needed to think over. He knew the battlefield, and he had almost certainly had a plan before Riser even challenged him to a fight. Even Sona hadn't missed how obvious his bait was.</p><p>The camera on the left starts changing angle every couple of seconds, flicking through different views of the school grounds and the forestry around it.</p><p>"Can they not find him?" Ruruko asks.</p><p>"He did say he was more of the stealth type," Tsubaki commented. Sona frowned. He had, hadn't he? On multiple occasions even. But when Rias's group was guessing how he would do things, stealth wasn't even brought up. Why was that?</p><p>The cameraman seemed to give up on finding Axton and switched to a birds-eye view of the arena. The other view showed Riser's peerage all filing out of the Student Council office and leaving in groups of three. Riser, by himself, took to the sky, watching over everything.</p><p>For about twenty seconds, nothing happened. Riser's Peerage spread out and started looking for Axton, heading to different landmarks.</p><p>Twenty-five seconds after Riser's peerage scattered, an announcement was made.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Queen Yubullena has retired!</em>
</p><p>"What?!" exclaimed multiple people, Sona included. Everyone leaned forward in surprise as the camera quickly switched to where Yubullena just was. But it was too slow, and it only catches a flash of light as the two with her also retire.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Pawn Ile has retired!<br/>Riser's Pawn Nel has retired!</em>
</p><p>"Damn cameras, you missed it!" Atsuko complained.</p><p>As if they heard her complain, the screen split into four sections, each one showing one of the teams Riser sent out. All of Riser's peerage looked surprised and scared, understandably so. They could be seen raising their hands to their ears, using earpieces to communicate.</p><p>There's a flash of movement on the screen showing Mihae, Ni, and Li. Mihae was blown backward from an incoherent blur.</p><p>"Yua?" Momo gasped. Sona started. Was it? She looked closer, eyes sharp as another blurred movement impacted Ni. That was certainly too small to be Axton, and since it was only Axton and Yua on the field, it had to be her. But the idea that she could move that fast was frightening. That was faster than her own Knight by far, though she had seen Kiba move faster during the previous game.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Knight Siris has retired!<br/>Riser's Rook Isabella has retired!<br/>Riser's Rook Xuelan has retired!</em>
</p><p>"Again?!" Sona exclaimed, leaning forward even further and looking at the screen those three had just been on. "Did anyone see that?"</p><p>"No, I was paying attention to the other screen," Tsubaki answered, and the others nodded in agreement.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Bishop Mihae has retired!<br/></em>
</p><p>"Oh, Yua got her!" Aika said. Sure enough, back on the screen they were watching earlier, Mihae was disappearing in a flash of light. As they watched, Yua quickly dispatched Ni and Li, coming to a stop for a single moment, letting them see her clearly. Or they could have, but as they looked, they noticed that she was transparent, and they could see right through her.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Pawn Ni has retired!<br/>Riser's Pawn Li has retired!</em>
</p><p>"Is she invisible?" Saji asked.</p><p>"I didn't know Yua could do that," Kiba commented.</p><p>"I think that's the same thing he taught me, but Yua's a lot better at it it looks like," said Aika.</p><p>"Wait, is that why we can't see him?" Rias asked. "Is he running around invisible?"</p><p>Yua disappears in a familiar movement. "She can do that too?" Akeno gasped.</p><p>"She's been using that to come to see me often actually," Momo said.</p><p>"Wow, Yua can kick some serious ass," Ruruko commented. Sona shot her a look for cursing. "Ah, sorry Kaichou." She made a zipper motion over her mouth. Sona sighed and turned her attention back to the screen. Ruruko wasn't wrong. Yua just by herself was more impressive than any of her own Peerage members. That wasn't something Sona liked to admit, but it was true.</p><p>Was that the result of Axton's ability? Of those pocket dimensions? To turn a completely normal newborn kitten into something never before seen that can fight on part with Middle-Class Devils? In just under a month? She wouldn't believe it if the evidence wasn't right before her eyes. Maybe she will take Axton up on that training.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Knight Karlamine has retired!</em>
</p><p>Everyone's eyes shot to the screen in question in time to see an angle of Burent clutching at...something? Her hands grabbed at the area near her throat but didn't reach them. Suddenly, she slumps over, unconscious, and disappears in a flash of light.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Pawn Marion has retired!<br/>Riser's Pawn Burent has retired!</em>
</p><p>They'd only been able to see Burent. By the time Karlamine's retirement had been announced, he had already given the same treatment to Marion and had started on Burent.</p><p>"He's...knocking them out?" Rias pondered out loud.</p><p>"She looked like she was in an invisible chokehold," Kiba responded.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Pawn Mira has retired!</em>
</p><p>They turned to look at the last screen, where Yua once again was attacking. But this time she had wands in her paws, and she was sending beams of light at them. Shuriya and Ravel tried to dodge, but Yua wove another wand in her other hand and Shuriya froze in place, seemingly unable to move. A beam of light hits her chest, and she disappears as well, leaving just Ravel.</p><p>
  <em>Riser's Pawn Shuriya has retired!</em>
</p><p>Yua pulled yet another wand out of nowhere, waved it, and a mass of ice shot up from the ground. It encapsulated Ravel, who tried to dodge, but she was too slow, still reeling from the suddenness of everything going on. She was trapped in the ice, still conscious, but unable to move. Fire appeared around her, and the ice started to melt, but Yua kept piling on more ice.</p><p>It had barely been a minute since Riser's Peerage had left their base, and already all of them were taken care of. Even the immortal Ravel was trapped in ice, though that may only be temporary considering how much steam was coming from there.</p><p>The screen cut to show Riser, fury on his face, but there was something else there as well. Fear.</p><p>He moved from his position high in the sky and headed in Ravel's direction, presumably to assist her. As he flew above the trees though, an inky black rope of <em>something</em> shot out of them and latched on. Riser, caught off guard, is yanked out of the air and thrown to the ground.</p><p>"You <em>dare</em>," Riser seethes as he gets up, unharmed but covered in dirt.</p><p>"I do," comes a voice, and even in the viewing room, it's impossible to tell where it came from. In fact, it sounded like it came from multiple directions. But it was definitely Axton's voice.</p><p>"Where are you?" Riser demanded, head swiveling.</p><p>"I'm right here," Axton replied with multiple voices again.</p><p>"Too scared to face me directly?" Riser mocked as he looked around.</p><p>"I don't know, are you?" Axton said, and the smile in his voice is clear.</p><p>"Come out so I can finish this farce of a Rating Game," Riser spat.</p><p>"Are you <em>actually</em> that confident in your ability to win?" Axton said. "I've taken out your entire peerage, Ravel included, with nothing but my own skills and a kitten not even two months old. Do you really think I don't have six different ways to counter you?"</p><p>"You said yourself that my Peerage is poorly trained," Riser shot back. "Congratulations on taking out some trash."</p><p>Axton didn't reply for a moment, and there's only silence, both at their fight and in the viewing room.</p><p>"You really are trash, aren't you?" Axton eventually asked, voice no longer multiplied. Riser twirls around to face the direction of the voice, only for a bolt of light to hit him in the back.</p><p>"Gah!" he cried out in pain, and everyone in the viewing room clearly saw that the would didn't heal.</p><p>"Counter number one," Axton's multiplied voice came again, tone lecturing. "A simple Light Gun, used by Exorcists. Simple, cheap, and easy to get your hands on."</p><p>"If you think a toy like that is enough to stop me," Riser started, voice filled with anger and pain.</p><p>There's a flash of light and Riser screamed out in pain again.</p><p>"Counter number two," came the voice. "A Light Sword, the melee counterpart to the Light Gun. More efficient in terms of energy use, but lacks the range of the light gun. Many Exorcists opt to use both rather than focusing on becoming skilled with just one."</p><p>Riser was breathing hard, eyes desperately looking for the next attack. "So you robbed some Exorcists, big deal. These attacks aren't-"</p><p>Riser was caught off by his own scream as three blurs impacted him from different angles. As Riser dropped to one knee, those in the viewing room saw what had hit him. Three simple swords with plain red hilts. And all three stabbed deeply enough into his chest to poke out the other side.</p><p>"Counter number three, Black Keys," Axton spoke up again. "A more advanced Exorcist weapon used to hunt down the most dangerous vampires. They can do all sorts of neat things, but for our purposes, the only important thing is their sanctified energy."</p><p>"Damn...you…" Riser spat out. He roars and stands up, pulling the blades out of him one by one. His hand sizzles each time he grabs onto the hilts, but he grits his teeth and removes each one. "These toys won't stop me!" he screamed.</p><p>"Good, because I still have more to show," came Axton's voice, cold and uncaring. There wasn't even a blur this time, but a gash opened up on Riser's shoulder. Riser let out a bellow of pain and collapsed once again to his knees.</p><p>"You…" he panted. "How...dare…"</p><p>"Counter number four," Axton said, ignoring Riser. "A little something I whipped up that I call the Cross of Judgement. As far as holy weapons go, it probably has the weakest aura of the ones I've used so far. But it has this lovely little effect where it judges whoever is stabbed by it and either smites them or blesses them, based on how much of a sinner they are."</p><p>Sona frowned. "Did he say he <em>made</em> a holy weapon?" she asked.</p><p>"He did," Akeno confirmed. "I'm not sure what he means by that though. He made our armor and a few other things. But I didn't know he could make weapons. He can make them magical weapons though, maybe that's what he did?"</p><p>Sona had been wondering where their equipment had come from but had just assumed Rias bought it through her own connections so hadn't bothered to ask. But Axton had made them? How many talents did Axton have?</p><p>"Enough of your games," Riser hissed. "Show yourself and face me like a man!"</p><p>"Like a man?" Axton asked. "What happened to me being just a lowly human?" A dark chuckle echoed through the speakers. "But you know what? Fine."</p><p>"What?" Riser said, alongside most of the occupants of the viewing room, as Axton appeared out of nowhere, either teleporting or dropping his invisibility.</p><p>He wore a thick armored vest made of black leather. It had several layers laid in a scale-like pattern to protect vital areas such as his heart, lungs, and stomach. And it had a black hood that was pulled up over his head. His arms were covered by a black material she couldn't recognize. Some sort of cloth. It had small metal shoulder guards and wires that ran down the length of it.</p><p>He also wore pants that matched the leather vest he wore and heavy-looking boots. On his left hip was a black sheath with the handle of a knife sticking out of it.</p><p>But most surprising of all were the two black cat ears poking out of his hood and equally black cat tail coming from his back.</p><p>Everyone in the room is stunned. "Is- is that cosplay?" Rias asked.</p><p>"I don't think it is," Aika answered. "Look at this tail. It looks real, and it's moving just like Koneko's does."</p><p>The mention of the catgirl caused everyone to look at her, her own ears and tail on display. Which had been a shock to Sona. She had known what Koneko was of course, but she also knew why Koneko hid those features. But Aika was right. Axton's cat features weren't some fancy cosplay, they looked exactly like Koneko's own, only black instead of white. Koneko herself stared at the screen, face blank.</p><p>"Koneko, do you know anything about this?" Rias asked gently.</p><p>Koneko didn't respond at first, but after a moment she nodded. "Sorta. He asked for some of my fur. Said he could make a potion to make himself able to use Senjutsu like a Nekoshou."</p><p>Akeno frowned. "So it was his potions huh. I wonder if it was the same one that made him taller?"</p><p>Sona blinked. Axton had grown taller? She hadn't even noticed. But if she thought about it...yes, he was, wasn't he? Before he had been the same height as Rias, but when they were standing next to each other earlier, he was a little taller than her.</p><p>"I can't believe my boyfriend turned into a catboy without telling me!" Atsuko complains, though her tone is more excited than annoyed.</p><p>Sona shot a look at Momo, silently asking if she knew about this, but Momo just shook her head and shrugged.</p><p>Sona turned her attention to the screen. Axton had kept so many secrets from so many people, but now it looked like he was starting to reveal them. She made sure to pay attention to what happened next, as her instincts were telling her Axton wouldn't reveal himself for nothing. Something big was about to happen.</p><hr/><p>"I thought you were human," Riser spits out, obviously in pain. I check his HP with [Observe]. Still above half. Not bad, considering how much punishment I've put him through. Granted, not even the Black Keys were aimed at anything important. But it was still a lot of Light attacks.</p><p>"I was," I reply casually as I step towards him. "Still am, mostly. I've got a few additional bits, but I'd say the majority of me is human." It's hard to be sure, and honestly, it doesn't matter.</p><p>"You-!" he shots. "Stay back!"</p><p>I tilt my head in exaggerated confusion. "But I thought you wanted to face me like a man?" I ask as I continue moving towards him.</p><p>He doesn't reply with words and instead yells as he sends a fireball bigger than himself hurtling towards me.</p><p>I could probably tank it. My new armor made of Ender Dragon hide is extremely sturdy, even before the enchantments I put on it. But there's no need, I'm being cocky enough as it is, even if there's a point to my showmanship.</p><p>Right before it hits me, I activate [Void Cloak], and it passes harmlessly through me. I turn off the skill as soon as it passes me, still slowly walking towards him. "Counter number five," I say out loud, and Riser flinches. I pull out a bottle of holy water and crush it. The broken glass skitters off the fabric of my gloves and the whole thing becomes soaked.</p><p>"Holy water," is all I say before my next step brings me to right in front of him with [Void Travel] and I punch him in the face with my Holy Water covered hand, sending him spinning into a tree ten feet back.</p><p>"Not the most efficient way to use it, but it gets the job done," I comment. "Just a bit of that coated on a weapon and that weapon may as well be holy when it comes to how well you can heal it."</p><p>Riser is slow in getting to his feet, and I'm not in a rush. I take a moment to glance at the Game windows I've been ignoring.</p><p>
  <strong>Hollow Knight Class has reached level 100<br/>New Trait Added<br/>[Shade Soul] - Your soul remembers its origins, and embraces the Void. Unlocks Void Form.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Hollow Knight Class maxed out, extra XP held</strong>
</p><p>The Ender Dragon brought me really close to level 100, and I guess taking out Riser's peerage was enough to push me over that line. Each girl hadn't given me much, but I would have been more surprised if they had. All I had done was teleport behind them and used [Void Drain] in conjunction with [Knockout] to reduce their SP to zero.</p><p>I didn't want to hurt them, since they are going to my Peerage soon. Knocking them out like that was the cleanest way of doing that. I had spent a bit of time a few nights ago leveling the skill against some bears, but when combined with [Void Drain], it's so effective I didn't need to level it much.</p><p>Void Form though...if that's what I think it is, it should be exactly the level of showmanship I need. Perfect.</p><p>There's another screen prompting me to choose another class, but I ignore it for now. I'll worry about that later. Riser is getting up though, and it's time for me to end this.</p><p>"So far every single one of my counters has been based on using your weakness to Holy attacks against you," I say as I start towards him again. He sends more fireballs at me, smaller ones this time, but I casually step around them. "That's because it's your biggest and most obvious weakness, one that nullifies the advantage you have over other Devils."</p><p>Riser stops throwing fire at me and instead sprouts wings of fire and starts to fly away. That's not happening. I activate my Flight enchantment to follow him, but I feel an unexpected sensation on my back. I look over my shoulder and find two black wings sprouting from my own back.</p><p>Huh. I guess the Ender Dragon blood gave me more than I thought because those are definitely Ender Dragon wings. They clash a bit with my Nekoshou features, but I guess that's what makes me a Chimera.</p><p>I flap my wings and follow after Riser before he gets too far. Flying is instinctual, especially since I believe the enchantment is aiding me. I quickly catch up with him, grab him by his leg, and hurl him back to the ground.</p><p>The ground craters slightly where he hits, but it won't have done any real damage to him. Nothing that doesn't instantly heal at least. Not that it matters, I just didn't want this to turn into an aerial battle.</p><p>"Counter number six," I say as I land on the ground again and hide my wings again. "Unlike the others, it's not holy damage, and in fact, probably isn't something most people can do."</p><p>As Riser scrambles to his feet, I reach inside myself and mentally grab hold of my soul. It feels different. Darker, and more solid, but also more flexible. Normally I direct it to a skill, or in my one attempt, I try to make it physical. Instead, this time I pull it outwards and stretch it over me like a second skin.</p><p>I can feel it as it covers me and the world around me changes. I things I feel are both more and less at the same time. No, I just feel things <em>differently</em>. I feel what is not, feeling the inverse of the world around me, like how [Void Detect] works, but for all of my senses. And constantly in the background is that familiar song. The sweet melody of the Void.</p><p>Riser looks at me with a horrified look on my face. Curious, I use [Void Sight] to look at myself. I look like a silhouette of myself, covered in a black so dark it defies everything around it. I look like a hole cut into the world rather than a being inside of it.</p><p>Except for my eyes. Most of my face is blank, my features only suggested. But my eyes are two slits that glow with a powerful golden light.</p><p>
  <strong>Void Form activated<br/>Massively increased connection to the Void while active. Costs Soul to keep active.</strong>
</p><p>I see. Sure enough, I can feel my Soul draining. I probably can only keep this up for a minute at most. But that's more than enough.</p><p>"Your healing relies on your demonic power," I say, and there's a new layer underneath my voice. The same layer of Void that is part of the Man in the Wall's voice, making me sound just like him now.</p><p>"Normally, that's difficult to exploit, as your healing is amazingly efficient," I continue. All I feel from Riser now is fear as he steps backward, legs trembling.</p><p>I [Void Travel] to step right in front of him like I did earlier and grab him by his neck, lifting him up. He claws at my hands and wrists, but he can't get a grip on the shadowy substance that now makes up my body.</p><p>"Fortunately for me, that's not an issue," I say casually. "If your healing uses your demonic power, your magic, then I'll just drain that directly."</p><p>[Void Drain] activates, though there's no visual difference in my hands, already covered in my Void-laden Soul as they are. I start draining not only his MP but his SP as well.</p><p>Riser's fear spikes, even as his movements grow weaker as I rapidly drain him dry of his energy. In just under three seconds, both his MP and SP hit zero, and he slumps over in my hand. I drop him and let him hit the ground. His MP and SP are already starting to trickle back in, but it doesn't matter. I pull my Soul back in, returning me to my normal form.</p><p>
  <em>Riser Phenex has retired!<br/>The Rating Game is over! The winner is Axton!</em>
</p><hr/><p>The viewing room is silent as I teleport in. Yua has already gone home, tired. She sleeps less now as a Palico, but she still sleeps about half the day. Sirzechs is looking at me with a serious expression as if he's weighing me on a scale. Serafall looks different though. She doesn't look surprised. Which is surprising to me. Maybe her acting is good enough to fool me though? I note that Lord Phenex isn't in the room.</p><p>The others are all looking at me with shocked expressions. Some of them even look a little scared, and it would be a lie to say that didn't hurt a little. It was mostly the members of Sona's Peerage I haven't gotten very close to, and Kiba to a slight degree. It hurt, but I understood it. Being scary was my goal after all. But I didn't want to scare them. Never them.</p><p>Atsuko is fearless though, and she runs up to me and almost tackles me with her hug. "Holy shit Axton!" she exclaims. "That was fucking awesome!"</p><p>I laugh and hug her back. "You looked pretty cool yourself when you kicked his ass, I felt like I had to step up my game." I can feel everyone relaxing a little due to Atsuko's actions. I smile warmly. I really do love this girl.</p><p>"Oh, so you were showing me up then?" Atsuko banters as she lets go of me. "You can't let me have the spotlight just once, huh?"</p><p>"Nah, you were way cooler," I tell her. "I just needed to teach him a lesson is all."</p><p>"And I'd say he learned it," Serafall cuts in as she approaches. "Before you get too wrapped up in celebrating though, we need to discuss something. Riser's Peerage, and how you want to claim them."</p><p>"Well, seeing as I'm not a Devil, I can't just bring them into my own Peerage," I guess.</p><p>"You could become one though," Serafall points out.</p><p>"I'm sure you've noticed the changes I've made to myself with potions," I say, ears on top of my head flicking. "I don't want to complicate that further by becoming a Devil. No, it doesn't need to be that official. Just give Ravel her own Evil Pieces, trade Riser's Peerage to her, and have her officially work for me and my still unnamed potion production company."</p><p>"That could work," Serafall nods. "She'd still have to be a Bishop under somebody though. But I believe her Mother has a free Bishop she might be willing to use. If that's fine with you."</p><p>I shrug. "So long as Ravel and the rest of the Peerage work for me and not for her, then I have no problem with it."</p><p>Serafall nods. "I'll get to work arranging that then. I'll need to talk to Lord and Lady Phenex. I'll drop them off at your house tomorrow evening."</p><p>"Got it," I agree. "Thanks a ton, Levi-tan," I say with a wink.</p><p>She smiles and spins around, letting her magical girl dress twirl outwards. "See ya later Axton!" she says in a much more cutesy voice as she leaves out the door Riser left earlier, presumably to go find Lord Phenex.</p><p>While Serafall was talking to me, the others had gathered around me. Now that the tension from earlier is gone, I can tell they are all bursting with questions to ask me. It's Aika that manages to get one out first though.</p><p>"When did you become a catboy?" she asks. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm into it, but that's a big change."</p><p>"Pretty early this morning," I reply. "I mentioned earlier that I used a potion on myself and that changed my height? Well, that wasn't all the potion did."</p><p>"Is that why you have those wings as well?" Ruruko asks.</p><p>"Yep," I reply. "The dragon wings were part of it. I know they don't look great together, but I'm more concerned about function rather than form."</p><p>"Those were <em>dragon</em> wings?" Akeno asks with a frown. "But if you got the Nekoshou fur from Koneko, where did you get something from a dragon?"</p><p>I blink. Oh, I guess Koneko told them about that. It makes sense, I would have asked her too if one of the girls suddenly had cat ears. "Not too long ago I followed some old records I dug up and found an ancient hoard from a dragon I'm pretty sure died a long time ago," I answer. "There were a lot of interesting things in there."</p><p>"More importantly," Sona cuts in, tone serious. "What was that last bit?"</p><p>I was both ready and totally unprepared for this. I knew it was going to come up, but I haven't come up with a good excuse for it yet. But telling them an only slightly trimmed down version of the truth should be fine. That was the point of it after all. I'm laying my big cards on the table for everyone to see.</p><p>"That...I guess you could call it my soul," I answer.</p><p>Sona blinks, obviously not expecting that answer. "What, like your Sacred Gear? Did you reach Balance Breaker?"</p><p>I shake my head. "Truth be told, I'm more sure every day that I don't have a Sacred Gear. Or if I do, I haven't awoken it yet."</p><p>"We suspected that ourselves," Momo pipes up. "You do too many things too well, it wouldn't make sense. But what do you mean by soul then?"</p><p>"I've recently started to learn how to weaponize my soul," I explain. "So far, it's mostly been by using it to empower my magic and other abilities. But I've started experimenting with manifesting it into physical shape, and just using it in more creative ways."</p><p>"And that was one of those ways?" Rias asks.</p><p>"That was actually the first time I've tried something like that," I say. "But it felt right. Instead of empowering specific actions, it empowers all of me, though I can't keep it up for very long yet. I used it to be flashy. The cosmetic changes were a bit unexpected though."</p><p>That last bit is a lie, I fully expected them. In fact, I had counted on them, considering the class that gave me it and the description of the trait.</p><p>"That still sounds a lot like a Balance Breaker," Kiba points out. "Especially doing it for the first time in an important moment by just following your instincts." He shakes his head. "Not that you're wrong in that it's unlikely what you do is because of a Sacred Gear. Though maybe this soul stuff you're doing is one?"</p><p>"What I want to know is what you mean about using your soul," Rias says. "How is it different from magic? Or Senjutsu?"</p><p>I shrug. "For one, it's more universal. I can empower things that use my magic, and things that use my stamina just the same. And it definitely draws from a different pool of energy. A much smaller one, and one that leaves me tired in a way that using magic or exercising doesn't."</p><p>"So that black form...that was your soul?" Asia asks.</p><p>Ah. I can see how that doesn't exactly make them any more comfortable with what they just saw. "I guess?" I hedge. "It's definitely not as simple as that. Like I said, that's me weaponizing my soul. I'm not sure how that process affects its appearance."</p><p>This causes everyone to relax a little. I feel a little guilty about lying to them so directly. I know exactly why it looks like that. My soul is so filled with Void by this point, there's no way it would look like anything else. But I'm not ready to explain all of that to them yet. Not here, not now.</p><p>"Look, that's enough about me," I say. "Let's stop hanging around here and head to my place, alright? I have a bunch of food and stuff ready for a big celebratory party, we can talk there."</p><p>"Why don't you guys head there, I want a chance to talk to Axton for a moment," Sirzechs says. I almost forgot he was here, but it appears he was listening to the conversation. His expression is friendly, but his emotions are completely flat.</p><p>"Great idea," I say. "Go ahead and head to the teleportation circle, I'll catch up after we talk."</p><p>Rias pauses, but then nods. "Alright, Axton." She turns to Sirzechs. "Don't keep him too long, okay?"</p><p>Sirzechs smiles and puts a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "Don't you worry about that, I'll be quick."</p><p>The others leave, and it's just me and Sirzechs in the room. He doesn't speak up at first, probably making sure that they actually leave and don't try to eavesdrop. They're not, [Void Detect] shows all of them leaving. Well, Atsuko is being dragged by Aika. She might be trying to eavesdrop, but the others won't let her.</p><p>Seeing that he's not breaking the silence, I speak up myself. "So, what can I do for you, Mr. Satan?" I ask.</p><p>He looks at me, face blank as his emotions. "Tell me, if I were to ask you what Ouroboros is, what would your answer be?"</p><p>Why is he- oh. Right. "It's Norse mythology, right?" I ask. "The snake that bites its own tail. It represents Infinity, among other things." I tilt my head. "Wait, if the bible stuff is all real, are the Norse gods real too?"</p><p>He studies my face, looking for a sign of a lie. Thankfully, I'm a very good liar. He must have realized my skills are Void related, and in this world, there's only one person connected to the Void. Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity, sometimes known as Ouroboros.</p><p>"They do," he answers, seemingly content in not finding anything on my face. "So do the Greek and Hindu Pantheons. We usually stay out of each other's hair though. Inter-Pantheon relations can be a little...tense."</p><p>"Man, the world is a lot bigger than I realized," I comment, continuing to act like I didn't know this already.</p><p>Sirzechs smiles. "Get used to that feeling. Even after so long, I still see new things that I never even suspected could exist." He looks at me as he says this. Hah, I guess I do fit that description.</p><p>"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Ouroboros and the Norse pantheon?" I ask.</p><p>He frowns slightly. "I just wanted to know if you knew about it. And for the record, Ouroboros isn't from the Norse pantheon. Or any pantheon. He stands alone. And he's the sort of person you don't want to mess with."</p><p>He? Oh right, Ophis is a shapeshifter, and word of her new female form hasn't spread. "Noted," I reply. "With any luck that won't be an issue."</p><p>Sirzechs grimaces. "Yes, hopefully, we'll get lucky."</p><p>We both know that won't be the case though. I haven't attracted her attention yet, but I'm too connected to the Void to escape her notice forever. And I have no idea how she'll react when she does notice me. Thankfully, I have a few plans to gain her favor.</p><p>"If that's all, I have a party to get to," I say.</p><p>He nods. "Right right. Go enjoy your fun and celebration. You both earned it. I'll contact you later, we need to discuss how to keep things balanced with your potions in the future of Rating Games. But I'll let you get your shop set up first."</p><p>"Much appreciated," I say. Before he can say anything else, I [Void Travel] out of the room and down to the teleportation circle out of the Underworld. All I want to do is celebrate with my girls. Everything else can wait.</p><hr/><p>For all my talk about putting together a celebratory party, the actual thing is pretty simple. The banquet hall, which is apparently something I have now, had its chairs moved from the table to around the edges of the room. A spread of food is laid out along the table that runs almost the entire length of the room, and everyone is standing around in groups chatting.</p><p>Three of the walls have large screens hanging from them, and footage of the Rating Games is playing on them. Apparently, it's a rough cut they had already put together that Serafall had dropped off. It showed off everyone's fights, and a lot of the talk is centered around the footage.</p><p>Momo, Ruruko, Aika, Atsuko, and Asia are standing in one corner. They're not paying attention to any of the screens. Instead, they're talking among themselves. I was just talking with them as well, making proper introductions. They shooed me off a moment ago though so they could have 'girl talk'. I decide not to listen with [Sound Domain]. I'm not worried, they're just finally getting to know each other. It's a good time too because my harem only gets bigger every day. Koneko is almost but not quite part of it, and Rias and Akeno aren't too far off either. Now that the training camp is done, it's time for me to pick back up on all the others I put on pause. Thankfully, the [Harem King] perk should make it so it's not an issue to keep growing my harem.</p><p>Sona, Tsubaki, Rias, and Akeno are standing in their own group, and their attention is on the screen. From the bits of conversation I've heard from them, they're discussing my training and the strategies Rias used in her Rating Game. Even when celebrating, those four are so businesslike. But that's what makes them good leaders for their Peerages.</p><p>The other members of their Peerages are all grouped together in one bigger group. They're also discussing the training and the Rating Game, though their focus is a little different. Where Sona and Rias are going over things with a critical eye, the others are just excitedly chatting.</p><p>One of the screens catches my attention. It's showing my final confrontation with Riser. My nonchalance and my Void Form. It's not as impressive on the screen as it is in person, but you can still tell it's not just shadow or darkness I've covered myself in.</p><p>It feels weird to have shown so much after spending so long keeping my head down. But it was my best option. Between Kokabiel pissed at me and everything I know is coming, keeping my head down isn't going to be possible for much longer. Now that I've gained some strength, and now that I have this home I can protect, I opted to flip that.</p><p>My nature makes me mysterious, so I'll use that to my advantage. I'll make every potential enemy overestimate me by revealing my connection to the Void. Sirzechs' reaction is proof that I managed it. His first instinct was to tie me to Ophis. And if there's one person no one wants to fuck with in DxD, it's Ophis. Well, there are others, but she's a big one, and it's easy to make people suspect that.</p><p>So they'll hesitate, and they'll spy on me, gathering information. And that's all I need. The more time I can buy before anyone makes a move, the better prepared I'll be for when they do. At this pace, in another month I'll be strong enough to handle most of what this world can throw at me. Not the top players, but the ones that are likely to come after me for certain. It's a bit of a risk, but I'd rather take the gamble than desperately try to hide my abilities for as long as possible.</p><p>I feel Kyu settle on top of my head in her pixie-sized form. "So that's what you got for maxing out that class, huh?" she comments.</p><p>"It looks cooler in person, you should have been there," I reply.</p><p>"Nah, you've got the videos, that's enough for me," she says. "I'm more interested in fucking than fighting."</p><p>"Fair enough," I say. "You missed me roasting the Phenex brat though."</p><p>"I'm sure it was very impressive and very macho," Kyu comments sarcastically, and I laugh. "Ooh, look alive. The redhead is on her way over."</p><p>I turn and sure enough, Rias is heading in my direction. She's no longer dressed in her armor. Everyone had taken the chance to get dressed in new clothes before coming here. Now she's wearing a tight white armless sweater and a short black skirt. I recognize the outfit, it's the one she wore back when she and Akeno first tried to seduce me. She flashed me quite a bit using that skirt.</p><p>"Hey Rias," I greet her with a smile when she gets close.</p><p>"Do you have a moment?" she asks. I can feel that she's a little nervous. But nervousness isn't the only thing I feel. There's a whole slew of positive emotions, and it's lust that stands out the most.</p><p>"Sure thing, what do you need?" I say.</p><p>She looks around. "Actually, can we talk somewhere private?"</p><p>I have to work to keep my smile from spreading even wider. "Sure. I think there are a couple unused rooms nearby we can talk in." She nods, and the two of us slip out of the room. Three, if you count Kyu catching a ride on my head. I'm sure our absence will be noted, but that isn't a big deal.</p><p>I lead us down a couple hallways, searching with [Void Detect] for an appropriate room. Finding one, I lead us into a sitting lounge of some kind. The room was sparsely decorated. Two couches facing each other separated by a coffee table, end tables on each side of both couches, and a few empty bookshelf and cupboards around the walls.</p><p>I sit down on one of the couches, and she hesitates for a moment, but then she sits down next to me rather than across from me. I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and hit her with [Increase Sensitivity]. Neither of them too high, just enough to spice up what I'm hoping is about to happen.</p><p>"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask her as I look at her.</p><p>I can feel her steeling herself. "I wanted to do this," she says. She leans towards me, lips puckered, and kisses me. Her lips are full and soft and melt into my own. Our lips embrace for several moments, long enough for me to enjoy the taste of her lips, and then she pulls back.</p><p>She smiles, and her nervousness is gone. Love, lust, and happiness are the only emotions I can feel from her.</p><p>"I want to thank you, Axton," she says. "I know I've thanked you so many times already, but it still doesn't feel like I've conveyed to you the amount of gratitude I feel. Riser has been a weight on my shoulders for years, a burden I couldn't find out how to get rid of, and one that's only grown heavier as he got pushier. But tonight, that's been lifted. I'm <em>free</em>. And it's all thanks to you."</p><p>"I can't take all the credit," I reply. Though in truth, I kind of can.</p><p>She shakes her head. "We couldn't have done it without you." She looks at me again. "And so, once again, I want to thank you." She repositions herself, moving from next to me, to straddling my lap. Her legs are spread, pushing her short skirt up, revealing the lacy black panties she's wearing underneath it. Her hands wrap around the back of my neck as she looks down at me. "I want to thank you in a way I couldn't before."</p><p>She leans down slightly and kisses me again. But this time there's a heat to it, a desperate hunger. I place my hands on her hips and pull her closer to me. Our kiss quickly deepens, and the soft sounds of smacking lips echo through the room as we make out.</p><p>I can tell she's new to kissing, but by this point, I have plenty of experience with inexperienced girls. I'm able to guide and prod her, showing her through example the best way to kiss. The entire time, both of us are only growing more aroused. Her hips move as she grinds her crotch into the bulge of my boner.</p><p>She pulls back, and before I can even begin to wonder why, her hands are grabbing the bottom of her sweater and pulling it off of her head, revealing a lacy black bra to match her panties. That's quickly discarded as well, and I waste no time indulging.</p><p>My hand squeezes and gropes the voluptuous flesh of her left boob, my thumb flicking the nipple, while my mouth goes straight for the other one, latching on to her nipple, playing with it with my tongue.</p><p>She moans, her voice low and needy, but she follows it up with a giggle. "There's no need to rush Axton, enjoy them as much as you'd like."</p><p>"Sorry," I apologize. "But you suddenly put such amazing tits in front of my face, and I acted on instinct."</p><p>"Completely understandable," she says in mock seriousness before giggling again. I take that as the green light to keep going and return my attention back to her breasts. I focus my fingers on her nipple, pinching it slightly. Just enough to draw more moans out of her. After a moment, I switch it around, moving my lips to her other boob while the one it just left gets some attention from my hand.</p><p>The entire time she keeps letting out low moans as her breathing grows heavier, and she pushes down harder on my crotch. I twitch at the sensation, and I pull back for a moment.</p><p>"If we keep going like this, we're going to end up crossing a certain line," I say.</p><p>She smiles at me and leans down to kiss me. "I'm prepared for that," she says. Then she shakes her head. "No, more like, that's exactly what I want right now. I want to celebrate, and I want you."</p><p>I never get tired of hearing those words. My own arousal surges, and I pick her up by her rear, hands sinking into the soft flesh of her ass. I turn us around so she's the one sitting on the couch, and I'm on my knees in front of her. She watches me with eager eyes as I work at my belt, shoving my clothes down enough to expose my full erection.</p><p>I move her skirt out of the way before pushing her panties to the side, not bothering to take them off. I line myself up with her entrance, already sopping wet from arousal, and look at her to confirm one last time. She nods, a hunger in her eyes that I'm sure was reflected in my own. With that final confirmation, I push forward into her hot depths.</p><p>Being inside of Rias isn't a unique feeling. In fact, she feels remarkably similar to Akeno. But that doesn't detract one bit from the surge of pleasure that runs through me at the sensation of pushing my entire length inside of her.</p><p>Rias moans again, but her pitch is much higher this time. Her arms, still around my back, pull me closer to her. I can feel her breath on my ear as she moans with pleasure directly into my ear.</p><p>"I've wanted to do this for so long," she breathes.</p><p>"Me too," I reply, and I kiss her. Our tongues dance as I make small movements with my hips, thrusting in and out of her a few inches at a time. But I can tell she wants more, and my hands grab tightly onto her ass as I start to increase my speed and depth of my thrusts.</p><p>Soon the sound of slapping flesh echoes freely through the room as I pound into her. Our lips separate as she starts loudly moaning in pleasure. I feel her legs lock behind my back, and I can tell she's close. I bump up the level of [Touch of Pleasure] as I come close to my own orgasm, and then I bury myself deep inside of her one last time as I cum.</p><p>She climaxes at the same time, and I feel her writhe around me as I shoot my load directly into her womb. I thrust a few more times, making sure to squeeze every last drop of my semen out and deposit it inside of her.</p><p>I stay inside of her for a moment as we both catch our breath, recovering from our orgasms. Once she is breathing normally again, I kiss her softly, and she returns the kiss gladly. I pull back to see a smile on her face.</p><p>"Thank you, Axton, that was wonderful," she says.</p><p>"Any time," I reply with a wink as I slowly pull out of her. "I'd offer another round, but we should probably get back to the party." I cast [Clean Body] on her, cleaning up the mess of our sweat.</p><p>She blushes. "Oh no, they're all going to realize aren't they," she says as she gathers her clothes.</p><p>"The two of us did disappear together," I reply, pulling up my pants. "And I do have a bit of a reputation. But don't worry about that, none of them will judge you for it."</p><p>She nods slowly. "You're right. Of course, you're right." Her bra already back on, she quickly pulls her sweater on and then turns to me. "How do I look?"</p><p>Her hair's a little disheveled, and she's still a little flushed, but it's as good as we're gonna get. "Perfect," I tell her, and she nods.</p><p>I look at Kyu, who was on the opposite couch the entire time, masturbating. She waves her hand, looking tired from her own orgasm. "You two go on, I'll catch up later."</p><p>I mentally shrug. If she says so. I grab Rias by the hand and [Void Travel] us to right outside the banquet hall doors. She takes one moment to smooth her hair down, and the two of us enter.</p><p>A few people send us looks when we enter. Akeno and Sona included. Akeno smirks with a knowing look, while Sona just sighs. I smirk even as Rias blushes slightly.</p><p>"I'll talk to you later, okay?" I tell her. "I want to go check up on the other girls."</p><p>She nods, and we split up. She heads back to join Sona and Akeno, while I head to Atsuko, Asia, Aika, Momo, and Ruruko, who are still in a group.</p><p>"You and Rias were gone for a bit," Aika comments as I get close, a teasing grin on her face.</p><p>"She wanted to thank me for my help," I say. "And she wanted a bit of privacy for it."</p><p>"Oh I'm sure she did," Aika replies.</p><p>"More importantly," I say, changing the subject. "How did your 'girl talk' go?"</p><p>"Actually, we decided on something," Momo says.</p><p>"Oh?" I say eyebrow raised. "What's that?"</p><p>"That tonight, all of us are going to stay over," she replies, a mischievous smile on her face. "We want to spend some quality time with you. All five of us." She puts her hands on my shoulder and moves her lips to right next to my ear. "Your bed is big enough to hold six people, right?"</p><p>The jolt of arousal Rias's words sent through me doesn't compare to the effect of Momo's words just now, and I can feel my heart pumping in excitement. "It definitely can," I say. "Give me two minutes to send everyone home and I'll show you girls the master bedroom."</p><p>They all smile, and I can feel their arousal creeping upwards as well. Quickly, I head to the center of the room and clap my hands, drawing everyone's attention.</p><p>"Everyone!" I start. "I'd like to thank you all for coming. And once again, I'd like to congratulate Rias and her Peerage once again for the excellent job they did today." Everyone in the room politely clapped, expressing their support. "That being said, I'd also like to point out that it <em>is</em> a school night, and it's getting pretty late. So I'm afraid we'll have to call it a night here. If you'd like to stay here for the night, bedrooms and baths are available, and if you'd like to go home, the teleportation circle is right next to the entry hall."</p><p>There are a few noises of discontentment, but no one actually complains. It is late, and it's been a pretty long day for most of us. I stand by the door, saying my goodbyes to everyone. None of them opt to stay here, though Koneko looks tempted, and instead they all decide to go home. All of them except my five girls, patiently waiting for the last person to leave.</p><p>The last person finally teleports out, leaving us alone, and I turn to my girls with a grin. Despite the words I just said, I knew from their expressions of lust that we won't be going to bed anytime soon.</p><hr/><p>Kuroka's tails flicked side to side in agitation as she watched the video. She had snatched a copy of the Rating Game almost as soon as it was over. The physical security on one of the servers they stored the videos on was fairly low, and she'd snuck in here frequently to access Rating Game footage to learn more about the different groups of combat-ready Devils.</p><p>She hadn't expected to be able to grab two files though. The first one was the one she was after. The one with Shirone fighting alongside her Peerage. Axton's words were true. Shirone didn't play a key part in things, but she showed off plenty of skill. For only using Senjutsu a few days, she was doing well. Kuroka felt a surge of pride at that and made a note to find a way to approach her about teaching her more.</p><p>The second video was more surprising. Axton facing against the same Peerage. The video lacked the context of how the fight happened, but it was ultimately unimportant compared to what was revealed in the video. <span>The Nekoshou features, which were a surprise, but one that was quickly forgotten, overshadowed by his other transformation. </span> That black form that Axton used.</p><p>In each of her meetings with Axton, she felt his energy. Or rather, his lack of it. Most people wouldn't recognize it, and a week ago she would have said there was only one being that felt like that. Ophis. She'd spent enough time around Ophis to recognize that feeling of nothingness, the feeling of the Dimensional Gap.</p><p>It was actually possible to sense, but even that was like sensing a blank spot. Like looking at the sky and seeing a chunk of it missing. You could 'see' the hole, but only the shape of it is defined by the area you couldn't see. It was confusing, but you got used to the feeling eventually.</p><p>So she knew from the start, especially the first time she had met Axton, that he was connected to the Dimensional Gap. She wasn't sure exactly how. Ophis was unique as far as she knew, the only one of her kind. And after talking to Axton, it was clear that he was something else. But they shared that connection to the Dimensional Gap, and the footage of his black form with glowing gold eyes only made her more sure of it.</p><p>The question now was whether or not to tell Ophis. She held off initially, wanting to get more information. But now she had more, and she still wasn't sure. There wasn't a benefit to telling her, nor was Kuroka obligated to do so, but not telling her felt like a mistake. Like something she'd regret if Ophis found out she knew and didn't tell her.</p><p>Kuroka closed the video. She'll wait a little longer. Once she tells Ophis, she can't take it back, but she can wait to see how things develop a bit before telling her. A little time won't hurt. In the meantime, maybe she can investigate him a little more, and try to get a little closer to Shirone as well.</p><p>Kuroka nods to herself, mind made up. She'll wait, for a little while at least. But the news would circulate soon, and it won't be long before everyone knows of Axton, the second being connected to the Dimensional Gap.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Patreon Plug: If you want to support me, I'm on Patreon! I'd very much appreciate it.<br/>patreon.com/shiftysword</p><p>Axton's Character Sheet: tinyurl.com/axton-cs</p><p>Find me on Discord, either directly(shifty-sword#6508) or on the Shiro Gaming Omniverse server(discord.gg/k3jTZB9), where I'm glad to answer questions or just talk about things.</p><p>AN: And that's the arc! I know this was too long for some of you, but there's not anything I would have cut from it. This was a big arc, and a lot of things happening, even if it took some time to get to the parts everyone really wanted to see.</p><p>Unfortunately, with the end of this arc, I have some bad news. I'm going to be taking a short break from writing this. So far, I've coasted by with little to no knowledge of canon DxD and with no more planning than "Oh, this is a cool thing I want to work towards.". But I've reached the point where that's no longer viable.</p><p>During my break, I'll be finishing up the DxD novels and then I'll take some time to make a broad outline for the rest of the fic. I won't go into too much detail so that part shouldn't take too long, but I need to figure out once and for all what characters, plot points, and other things I want to focus on. Finishing this fic is something I really want to do, and doing this is something I have to do to make that a realistic goal.</p><p>The good news is that I've already made decent progress in the DxD LN's just by reading it a bit here and there while writing this arc. I just started volume 11 out of 25. And with some focus, I should be able to get through the rest quickly.</p><p>I'm super bad at estimating how long things will take me, but I'm hoping for something around a month before I release my next chapter, give or take a week. Hopefully, you guys don't mind waiting that long.</p><p>Now, onto the actual chapter. This was a big one, similar to the last one, where it has stuff I've been working towards for a very long time now. I hope you guys enjoy the Rating Games. It's been a while since I've written some decent action scenes, and it felt good to indulge in that here. Even if Riser's Peerage didn't put up enough of a fight to make it a very thrilling one. Oh well.</p><p>There's not much to say about this chapter that I didn't say in the chapter itself. His next class is decided, but you'll have to wait and see what it is.</p><p>All in all, I'm glad I finished this arc. It was fun, but I'm pretty ready myself to get back to more open content where Axton isn't stuck in a training camp. And I'm ready to derail canon hard.</p><p>So stay tuned for more!</p><p>AN #2: Also, I've started uploading on Webnovel, so if you see it there, that's me. Webnovel kinda sucks with a severe lack of formatting options(you can't even italicize words it's horrendous), but uploading there yourself seems to be the best way to prevent someone else doing it, so I'm just cutting that off at the head.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. DxD: Weaving Threads 01</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Patch Notes:<br/>- Changed the Ring Target gacha roll he got in Getting Into Shape 05 to a "Neutralizer" that nullifies all weaknesses and resistances. Because apparently, I lack reading comprehension, as I was working under the impression of that being what the Ring Target did from the start. So I've retconned it to match what I intended.<br/>- Added a small line to Getting Into Shape 07 about Kuroka recognizing Axton's Nekoshou features because dummy me forgot about it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>I don't need to sleep, but I can't say that I don't like to. Especially when I get woken up like I do today, with the sensation of a pair of lips wrapping around the head of my dick, a gentle tongue following it.</p>
<p>I open my eyes and look down and see Asia between my legs, taking my erection into her mouth even as she looks up at me with love in her eyes. I smile at her and then look around some more. My arms are around Momo and Aika, who are cuddled up to either side of me. Atsuko is hanging off of Aika's back on my left, and Ruruko is a little lower, clinging more to my right leg. All of us are naked, and I can see marks left by the cum I covered them in last night. Save for Asia, all of them are still deep asleep.</p>
<p>It turns out, sleeping with five girls, four of whom are devils, is enough to exhaust me. Not surprising when the math works out to cumming roughly three times for each of them. Even Asia is at the level where her endurance can handle three rounds, while the others can handle even more.</p>
<p>It was a very good bonding experience though, just what I needed to help mesh together the disparate parts of my harem. Atsuko was especially happy and intermingling, and seeing her make out with one of the other girls or play with their breasts or sit on their face increased my own arousal by an incredible amount. Asia was especially receptive and did what she could to make whatever girl I was inside feel even better.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, I turn my attention back to her. Neither of us has spoken a word, but we don't really need to. She woke up and decided to give me a blowjob. I can feel her warm mouth slowly and tenderly exploring the first few inches of my penis. I've gotten quite a few blowjobs before, but this one is loving and caring on a whole new level.</p>
<p>I move my hand and place it on her head. I twine my fingers into her hair and start running them through it and over her scalp, showing her how much I appreciate it. I feel her love and happiness spike and she redoubles her efforts, but not her speed.</p>
<p>While I sit back and enjoy Asia's blowjob, I turn my attention to the Game windows that I've been ignoring since yesterday.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perk rewarded for 500 CHA!<br/>[Weighted Words] - Your words carry weight, and people are more likely to obey you so long as you ask them for something they would reasonably do.</strong>
</p>
<p>I only just now got to 500 CHA? Looking at my stats, I notice how imbalanced they are. STR, DEX, INT, and WIS are all over one thousand. But CON, CHA, and LUK are around five to six hundred. I guess for CHA and LUK that makes sense. Most people I've seen have those two stats much lower than their others. But my low CON is a problem.</p>
<p>Fortunately, it's a solvable one, considering the next window I look at is the class selection screen. Yesterday I maxed out the Hollow Knight class, but never picked a new one to replace it. Hopefully one of these would help me increase my CON.</p>
<p><strong>Please choose a new Class</strong><br/><strong>[Void Knight] [Void Monk] [Void Berserker] [Void Ranger]<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Assassin] [Void Ninja] [Void Thief]<br/></strong> <strong>[Void Summoner] [Void Manipulator] [Void Trickster]<br/></strong> <strong>[Blue Mage] [Lightbearer]</strong></p>
<p>Is this what the Game meant by my class options being updated? It certainly is specialized, which is something I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, these classes are no doubt extremely powerful. But on the other, I'm wary of overspecialization after my experience with the Ender Dragon.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I still have options for non-Void classes in the Unique classes. Blue Mage is still there, and it's joined by a new one. Lightbearer. No doubt this is a result of including the Shard of the Traveler in my race change potion. I was surprised when it didn't add anything, but I suppose this is what it did.</p>
<p>Honestly, I have no reason not to pick it. Just by itself, it's a powerful class, but it's also likely to increase my CON and it will offer me non-Void combat options. I have a few more of those now with Devil magic and the Power of Destruction, but more is good.</p>
<p>Some of the Void classes are extremely tempting, but they can wait a bit longer. My mind made up, I choose the Lightbearer class.</p>
<p><strong>Lightbearer Class selected<br/></strong> <strong>Held XP given to Lightbearer Class<br/></strong> <strong>Lightbearer Class is now Level 21!</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>Trait Added!<br/>[Lightbearer] - A seed of Light has joined with your soul. It will grow as you do. Draw from it to unleash the power of the Light.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Please select an element<br/>[Solar] [Arc] [Void]</strong>
</p>
<p>Another unique class giving me a trait right at the start. I'd be worried if it wasn't then immediately asking me to pick an element. Solar, Arc, and Void are the three elements Light is commonly turned into for use by Guardians in the Destiny games. I guess it lets me choose which one I want. Do I only get one? Or am I just deciding the order?</p>
<p>There's no way to tell, but either way, my choice is the same. I choose Arc, the element that's like electricity, but it's also <em>more</em> than that. I need something that isn't Void, and between fire and electricity, I prefer the latter. I'm hoping that I'll get the others later on as well though.</p>
<p>
  <strong>New skills added!</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>[Conjure Arc-Light] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Draw on the Light and convert it to Arc</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>[Shape Arc-Light] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Shape conjured Arc-Light with your will.</strong>
</p>
<p>So I do get skills, good. And already I got the two I was hoping for. The ability to turn Light into Arc, and the ability to shape it. Even just that alone made the class worth it, though I'm a little annoyed that I now have to deal with what seems like yet another pool of resources. Unless it just pulls from my Soul?</p>
<p>A wave of warm pleasure washes over me as Asia's tongue runs over a sensitive spot. Right, now isn't a good time for testing, I'll figure it out later. There are only a couple more windows left to look at.</p>
<p>
  <strong>World Jump unlocked!<br/>A new world can be traveled to at any point. You can bring one companion. Hunie can be spent to customize the world when jumping. Time stops in any world the Gamer is not present in. Travel back can be done at any time. Once the new world's main objective is complete, free travel with infinite companions is unlocked between the two worlds.</strong>
</p>
<p>I honestly nearly forgot this is even a thing. I've been enjoying my time here so much, and there's so much to do here, that I haven't even thought about moving on. I could move on now, try for a lower-level world, do some free easy leveling.</p>
<p>But I really don't want to. If I leave now, with all that I have going on, it's going to be confusing coming back. And I've only just gotten back from a week-long training camp where I only did that. My to-do list built up from that interruption, and interrupting it again doesn't sound appealing.</p>
<p>The notification says I can do it whenever, so I won't rush things. That decided I move my attention to the last window.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Achievement Unlocked!<br/>[Maestro of Moans] - Satisfy five girls in a singular sexual encounter<br/>Reward: Lewd Skill Gem</strong>
</p>
<p>Ah, a reward from Kyu. I guess she enjoyed the show. I look around for her and spot her immediately, sleeping in her pixie form, nestled between Momo's breasts. Of course, she went for the largest pair of tits. I go ahead and use the reward, knowing exactly what I want.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lewd Skill Gem Used!<br/>Pick a Lewd Skill!<br/>[Refraction Reduction]<br/>[Alter Size]<br/>[Imbue Tightness]<br/>[Summon Appendages]<br/>[X-Ray Vision]<br/>[Lubricate]<br/>[Seal Orgasm]<br/>[Link Sensations]<br/>[Phantom Hands]<br/>[Bind]</strong>
</p>
<p>[Link Sensations] is tempting, and I'll probably go for that next. But right now I'm going for [Refraction Reduction]. I thought my sexual stamina was excessive, but I was proven wrong last night, and I'd like to start fixing that as soon as possible.</p>
<p>
  <strong>[Refraction Reduction] - Level 1(0%)<br/>Reduces the time it takes you to recharge by 1%</strong>
</p>
<p>One percent at level one. Does that mean one hundred percent at level one hundred? I can only hope.</p>
<p>I take a quick look at my status.</p>
<p><strong>Axton<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 321<br/></strong> <strong>Class: Lightbearer(21/100)[69%]<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 52,950 (3,495 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 119,280 (10,258 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 87,960 (6,685 per second)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 959(1059)<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 1,366(1466)<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 1,561(1661)<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 1,604(1704)<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 1,485(1585)<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 711(811)<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 897(997)</strong></p>
<p>My stats jumped up quite a bit. A new race and a new unique class combined with 21 free levels really helped with that. And just as I hoped, the Lightbearer class seems to focus on CON, and it's already on its way to matching my other stats. After double-checking everything, I close my status.</p>
<p>With no more windows distracting me, I let myself fully appreciate Asia's loving blowjob. While I was taking care of that, she managed to get more than half my dick down her throat, and was gently massaging it with her tongue and even by contracting her throat. I twitch inside her, silently letting her know how good it feels for me, and I feel a surge of satisfaction.</p>
<p>She picks up her movements slightly, and over the next few minutes, she slowly pulls me towards my climax. I grip her hair slightly in warning as I cum, thick ropes of semen shooting directly into her throat, flavored at the last minute to taste like strawberries.</p>
<p>Asia, already used to this, takes my load without any hesitation. When my orgasm finishes, she pulls herself off of my erection. There's a quiet popping noise as her lips separate from it, and she opens her mouth wide for me to see her empty mouth. For a moment, I wonder where she got the idea to do that, but I quickly realize it was probably Aika that taught her that. I'll have to thank her for that later.</p>
<p>Asia closes her mouth and smiles at me and then crawls to lay more directly on top of me. My dick pushes against her soft stomach as she settles her chin on my chest.</p>
<p>"I love you," I tell her in a hushed voice, hand still in her hair, petting her.</p>
<p>"I love you too," she replies, just as quietly. But not quietly enough it seems, as the other girls start stirring. Or maybe it was Asia's movement that woke them up. Either way, the bed suddenly becomes more active as the four other girls start moving and opening their eyes.</p>
<p>"Good morning everyone," I tell them. I use [Void Sight] to quickly look at a clock since I can't see one from my angle. "We need to be up soon if we want to make it to school on time."</p>
<p>Reactions to that are mixed, as many of them are still getting their bearings and waking up. Asia's excitement grows, and she quickly sits up. Momo looks a little confused at first, but as she looks around I can see the pieces click into place for her. She kisses me on the cheek and starts to get up as well, shaking Ruruko, who is a little more lethargic. Kyu tumbles out from between her boobs, catching herself mid-air and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes while grumbling.</p>
<p>On my other side, Aika and Atsuko both grumble, but they seem less confused by waking up in this pile of bodies, and they slowly start getting up, eyes still half-closed. Only once everyone else starts getting up can I finally sit up, bodies no longer keeping me in place. Though I miss the feeling almost immediately.</p>
<p>"The bathroom is right through that door," I tell them. "It should be big enough for all of us to wash up."</p>
<p>Atsuko yawns as she stretches, and I take a moment to appreciate her toned body. "I definitely don't want to go to school like this," she murmurs, still half asleep.</p>
<p>"I wouldn't mind, but Sona would chew me out if she figured it out," Ruruko says as we all pile into the bathroom. It's pretty large, and it's a weird hybrid of Western and Eastern, having a separate shower and bath, but done in western styles.</p>
<p>"As much as I enjoy the thought of marking you girls, it'd probably not smell great," I reply.</p>
<p>Ruruko raises an arm and sniffs it, her nose scrunching slightly at the smell. "Good point," she accedes.</p>
<p>We shower quickly, making sure to scrub each other down. Momo doesn't let us get too distracted, though I get some gropes in on all the girls before we finish up. Unfortunately, we have to skip the bath, but just a few short minutes later we're heading down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast.</p>
<p>Wilhelm is doing great as a butler, and while he managed to set up catering for last night, cooking is not his forte. I'm able to whip up a quick breakfast though, and we chow down. While Asia and Momo talked about Asia's first day of class, I see Kyu fly into the room in her normal outfit and at her full height. And to my surprise, the other girls turn their heads to look at her too.</p>
<p>"Hiya everyone!" Kyu says cheerfully, hand raised in greeting. "I'm Kyu, an old friend of Axton's, and I'll be staying here too!"</p>
<p>The girls turn their attention from Kyu and back to me, curious expressions on their faces. I sigh. "I didn't expect you to show up like this so soon," I address her. I knew she was thinking about revealing herself to my harem. The orgy last night probably pushed her to rip that bandaid off though. "Everyone, meet Kyu Sugardust. She helped me out of a bad situation before I came to Kuoh and has helped me out a lot since. She's the one I met up with on Sunday."</p>
<p>"What are you?" Atsuko asks bluntly, eyes glued to Kyu's outfit. And not for no reason. Kyu's outfit is little more than a flowing top that shows off her midriff and cleavage and a pair of panties. Not to mention the giant wings sprouting from her back.</p>
<p>"I'm a fairy!" she answers, thankfully omitting the 'love' part.</p>
<p>Momo frowns. "I didn't know fairies actually existed."</p>
<p>Kyu shrugs. "Eh. Relatively speaking there aren't that many of us, and we generally tend to stay out of sight. I'm only showing myself to you guys because you're so close to Axton."</p>
<p>"Are you close to him yourself then?" Aika asks, a twinkle in her eyes.</p>
<p>"We fuck, yeah," Kyu replies bluntly. I'm torn between sighing and laughing. None of my girls care who I sleep with thanks to my efforts and the [Harem King] perk. But there's still a part of me that feels like I should be hiding that sort of thing.</p>
<p>"You should have joined us last night," Asia says, proving my thoughts correct. I'm especially glad to see her inviting other girls.</p>
<p>Kyu waves her hand dismissively. "Nah, I didn't want to interrupt. I'm definitely down to join next time though." She winks at Asia. "You girls are pretty cute, I'd love to share a bed with you." Asia blushes in response.</p>
<p>"We need to leave now if we want to make it on time to get Asia set up before classes," Momo interrupts, glancing at the time on her phone. "Sorry Kyu, we'll have to talk more later."</p>
<p>"Lame," Kyu replies. "But that's fine, I just wanted to say hi, introduce myself, all that jazz."</p>
<p>I throw the last bit of food in my mouth and stand up, the girls following suit. "In that case, thanks for dropping by Kyu. Talk to Wilhelm if you need anything, and we'll talk more later, okay?"</p>
<p>"Aye aye captain," she replies with a lazy salute. "See you girls later! I hope to get to know you all <em>very</em> well." With a final wink, she leaves as suddenly as she came in. Only to immediately come back in, shrunken and invisible, settling on top of my head.</p>
<p>"She's...interesting," Ruruko comments hesitantly. "I kinda couldn't keep up with her." Momo nods in agreement</p>
<p>"She's unique, that's for sure," I reply as we gather our stuff and start heading out, ignoring the tiny swat from her on top of my head. "But she's fun, and she's helpful."</p>
<p>"What's the story about how you guys met?" Aika asks.</p>
<p>"I don't want to bore you with the details, but to make a long story short, before I was awesome as I am now, I found myself somewhere I really shouldn't have been in. Thankfully, she was passing through and was able to get me out before anything bad happened, and then we just sorta became friends."</p>
<p>All true, if misleading. I'm not sure why I'm hesitant to tell them the full truth, that I'm not from this world and the place I was stuck was the space between worlds. I think it's because it makes the story so much more serious, and that's not really a discussion I want to have right now.</p>
<p>"Have you met any other fairies? Are they all like her?" Atsuko asks.</p>
<p>"No, but from what she's said, she's pretty normal for a fairy," I reply. "I find it hard to believe though." I get another swat to the top of my head.</p>
<p>"So fairies dress like that, huh?" Atsuko says in a voice filled with wonder. "Awesome."</p>
<p>I laugh and throw an arm around her shoulders as we walk towards school, pulling her in for a hug. "Never change Atsuko," I tell her. The others laugh as well, and Atsuko blushes a bit from embarrassment, but there's a smile on her face as well.</p>
<p>"You know, you could have just teleported them to school," Kyu says from the top of my head.</p>
<p>"Walking to school with friends is an important part of the school experience," I reply using [Sound Domain] to create the sounds where only Kyu could hear them. Not that easy when surrounded by girls and moving, but that just makes it good practice.</p>
<p>She snorts. "And you care about that? I thought school bored you?"</p>
<p>"It's important to Asia," I point out. "Besides, didn't you come in at the last minute on purpose?"</p>
<p>"I have no idea what you're talking about," she snaps back immediately.</p>
<p>"Oh I'm sure," I reply, a bit of sarcasm in my voice. "I'm just saying, I'd understand if someone who spent most of her time invisible to nearly every other person was a little nervous about meeting five pretty girls."</p>
<p>More hits to the top of my head follow. "Bitch, I'm a <em>Love</em> Fairy, I do <em>not</em> get nervous talking to girls."</p>
<p>"No no, you're right of course," I placate her sarcastically. "I apologize for suggesting otherwise. I suppose it was someone else's nervousness I was picking up with [Empathy]."</p>
<p>"Keep it up buster and I'll lock the damn skill," she growls.</p>
<p>"Sure sure," I reply. "Still though, real talk? I get it. I'm not saying you're getting nervous in front of cute girls, you're just getting nervous being the center of attention. How often does that happen to you, huh? You're either invisible to everyone but your client, or you're looking for a new client while sort of blending into the background. There's no shame in being nervous when you're outside of your normal comfort zone."</p>
<p>Kyu grumbles but doesn't reply, and I fight down a sigh. "What I'm saying is, there's no rush. I appreciate you showing yourself, and I'm looking forward to you joining us, but feel free to do so at your own pace. We have all the time in the world."</p>
<p>She doesn't respond, but I can feel her emotions of relief and gratitude, and that's enough.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Asia's first day of classes is going pretty well. Everyone is excited to meet the pretty foreign girl, and during the lunch break, she's practically surrounded by classmates asking her questions. At first, she seems pretty overwhelmed, but she manages herself well and is naturally talking to the other students with a smile on her face.</p>
<p>I receive looks of jealousy, surprise, and interest when Asia mentions she's staying with me and when she blushes and goes quiet when asked about our relationship. When classes are over though, I extricate her from the curious classmates and the two of us head to the Student Council room, while Aika and Atsuko head to the ORC.</p>
<p>I'm still technically part of both clubs, but I've just spent the past week and some change with the members of the ORC, and I'd like to catch up with the Student Council some, especially with Serafall's proposition hanging over me. Also, Sona is at 82 Affection, and I'm <em>very</em> ready to take things to the next step with her.</p>
<p>Which is why the first thing I do when we enter the Student Council room is to ask her for a game of chess.</p>
<p>There's a charge to the atmosphere when I ask, and I can see Sona tense slightly. "That's...rather sudden," Sona replies. "Is there a particular reason you want to play?"</p>
<p>"Do I need one?" I ask her, though I continue before she can reply. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, and it's been a while since our last game. I've been practicing hard since then."</p>
<p>And I have been. Well, maybe not <em>hard</em>, but I have been practicing. My high INT makes learning Chess easy. It doesn't make me instantly good at it, but my ranking on the chess app I use has shot up quickly as I learned from each game I played here and there. Based on the last game we played, I'm more than ready enough to beat Sona now.</p>
<p>"I see," she replies, a little nervous and struggling not to show it. "Very well, I suppose I have time right now, and I wanted to talk to you as well. Let me set up the board."</p>
<p>Asia goes to sit next to Momo and Ruruko and talks with them while I sit down on the couch at the center, sitting in the same spot I have in the past when I've played games against Sona. She places the Wizard's Chess Set on the table in front of me, and I watch as the pieces scramble into their respective places. White on my side, black on hers.</p>
<p>"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asks as I move one of my pawns forward, starting the game.</p>
<p>"I wanted to talk to you about training you and your Peerage," I say. "While you don't need it as desperately as Rias did, not by a long shot, I believe you'd benefit a lot from it. You guys haven't participated in any Rating Games or any real-world combat, right?"</p>
<p>"We've participated in hunts for Stray Devils that enter our territory," she answers. "But no, nothing like that. Stray Devils are by themselves and very rarely are they capable of thinking straight, so they don't put up much of a fight. Rias takes care of some as well, and even with her smaller and less strictly trained Peerage she doesn't have any trouble with it."</p>
<p>I nod in understanding. "In that case, I can offer you exactly that. Real-world, or as close as you can get to it, experience. And I suspect that I don't need to tell you how much of a difference there is between training and the actual thing."</p>
<p>She frowns as she considers the board. "No, no you do not. I wanted to talk to you as well about training, but I was hoping for a different arrangement, one that wouldn't have us missing a week of school."</p>
<p>"I fully agree on that front, and without a time limit, there's no need for that," I reply. I do <em>not</em> need yet another week-long training camp that puts everything else on pause. "My training of Rias was composed of two main parts. Group training in those pocket spaces I told you about, and then individual training. The group training was to get used to actual combat as part of a team and to hone all the skills required for that. The individual training was to refine everyone's specialties and talents."</p>
<p>"Do you have an idea in mind already for how you want to schedule things then?" Sona asked. "We already do the individual training you describe as part of our normal training."</p>
<p>I nod. "Which is part of why you don't need it as much as Rias did. But I was thinking that for six weekends, every Saturday morning, I'll take you guys to the dungeons for group training for four hours. That's how much I did for Rias, four hours in the morning six days in a row. And I figured that some weekdays, depending on availability, I'd spend a couple of hours one on one with you or one of your Peerage members, helping them hone their skills as well. Whether it's to give them tips or just act as a sparring partner where they can go all out without fear of hurting me, it might help."</p>
<p>"Hmm," she replies, considering both my words and the board. So far things are even in the game, but I'm slowly pushing her into a disadvantageous position, and if she doesn't break out soon, things are going to swing my way very quickly.</p>
<p>"That would work for me," Sona finally replies as she moves a piece. It doesn't get her out of the bad position, but it makes it harder for me to push her into it. But it only delays things a bit, and judging from her emotions, she realizes it too.</p>
<p>"Are you fine with starting this Saturday then?" I ask. "And then starting the individual training sessions the week after that?"</p>
<p>"There's one more thing we need to discuss," Sona says. "Payment for your services."</p>
<p>I shake my head. "Don't worry about it. Rias didn't pay me either, and I didn't ask. I'm doing this as a friend." And because the goodwill I get from it is far more valuable than whatever money, connections, or items she could get me. All of those I can get more easily from other places, such as my potions business. But just like I did with Rias, training Sona's peerage is an easy way to get closer to all of them.</p>
<p>Sona frowns, looking up from the game board. "Rias didn't pay you anything?"</p>
<p>"Nope," I reply. "I didn't ask for anything and she didn't offer anything. She thanked me a bunch, but I don't really want payment for this. I'm doing it because I can, and because I want to."</p>
<p>"I see. Well, in that case, I'll gratefully accept," she says before shooting me a sharp look. "However, you are far too casual about this sort of thing. One of these days, someone will take advantage of you. You were like this with my sister as well."</p>
<p>I shrug. "Don't worry, no one that I don't want taking advantage of me will do so. But I don't mind if you want to take advantage of me a bit." I wink at her suggestively, and a very slight blush appears on the tips of her ears.</p>
<p>"How is your business with my sister going for you?" Sona asks, changing the subject. "I know she can be...<em>difficult</em> to work with at times, but she does her job well. Most of the time."</p>
<p>"It's been great actually," I reply. "She's been prompt and extremely helpful. And she went above and beyond with the house I asked her for."</p>
<p>"I'm glad to hear it," Sona replies. She pauses, distracted by the board. Things have started to turn against her, and no doubt she can tell how the rest of the game is going to play out. Still, she makes a move and doesn't give up yet. "She's simply repaying your kindness in the deal between the two of you, and doing what she can to not take advantage of you."</p>
<p>"You guys are unreasonably honorable for a race called Devils," I reply as I make my move, causing her to grimace as I shut off her attempt to pin my Queen. I start using [Erotic Pierrot] to slightly increase her arousal. Just a touch, as subtlety is the name of the game here. It's just to get her into the right mindset by the time I win this game.</p>
<p>"Not all Devils are like that, but Sitri's believe in good business relationships," Sona says. "My sister may have given up the name, but she's still a Sitri."</p>
<p>"And Rias?" I ask.</p>
<p>"The Gremory's have always been more kind than other Devils," she replies. "Primarily to their servants, but also in general. They have a reputation for it, though whether it's a good or bad thing depends on who you ask."</p>
<p>"So you're saying I have a skewed perspective of what Devils are like," I reply as I take another one of her pieces. She flinches slightly as the stone sword of my knight cuts down her rook.</p>
<p>"I'm saying you've met some of the best, and I wouldn't hold others up to those same standards," she replies. She takes out one of my pawns using her bishop, only for me to immediately take that bishop with my queen. She grimaces as she realizes the trap I set for her. Normally she would have caught that, but she's running out of options and is starting to get flustered. The game is nearly over either way though.</p>
<p>"I'll keep that in mind when interacting with other Devils in the future then," I say. She studies the board for a moment before sighing and making a move. The ending is clear, but I appreciate her letting it play out and letting me claim my win. "Checkmate," I declare three moves later.</p>
<p>She gives the board another glance, confirming that she no longer had any other options. "So it is," she admits, causing the shattered pieces to start repairing themselves now that the game is officially over. She looks up at me, and her face is blank and politely smiling, but her emotions are muddled. Frustration, hope, nervousness, arousal, and a few other emotions are all conflicting against each other.</p>
<p>"You know, back on that day when we played a few games in the park, I asked you if there was a prize for beating you," I say casually, ramping up her arousal just a little bit more. Her nervousness also spikes a bit.</p>
<p>"I remember," she replies, fidgeting slightly but otherwise keeping her cool. "I also did not give you a definitive answer one way or the other."</p>
<p>"I didn't really expect one at the time, as it was just playful banter," I say. "But I've been thinking about it, and there <em>is</em> something I want from you."</p>
<p>"Oh?" she asks, tone indicating casual interest, but [Empathy] reveals the true mess of emotions inside of her.</p>
<p>"There's only one thing from you I'd want as a prize," I say. "And that's a date with you. This weekend if possible, but I'm flexible when it comes to scheduling it."</p>
<p>She blinks, and her emotions still for a moment. "You want...a date?" she asks. "With <em>me</em>?"</p>
<p>"Absolutely," I reply with a grin. "This week I've been gone, I've thought about it a lot, and I'd love to take you on a date."</p>
<p>The others in the room had been vaguely paying attention to us before this but were partially distracted by their work and their own discussions. When I won, some of them started paying more attention. I saw Momo and Tsubaki's heads turn to look at the board. But now all of them are paying attention, and the room is quiet.</p>
<p>"And that's...all you want?" she asks, unsure. "You must have worked extremely hard to improve yourself so quickly, especially when you've been so busy."</p>
<p>"And a date with you would be a prize worthy of that effort," I say. "I wouldn't dare ask for anything more." I hadn't thought of it before, but her reaction reeked of insecurity in her own attractiveness. She's had marriage suitors, but I suppose most of them were more interested in her as the Sitri heiress than anything else. And she's also best friends with Rias, a red-headed bombshell. Even her own peerage was filled with beauties. I guess it's not surprising that she was insecure about her relatively plain looks.</p>
<p>Though honestly, she's more my type than someone like Rias. Slim, smart, and she has an elegant air to her. And the thought of having her naked in my lap as I make her cry out in pleasure arouses me far more than Rias in the same situation does. Maybe because it's harder to imagine? The normally serious Sona mewling in pleasure versus the already pretty sensual Rias. The contrast is higher for Sona, and I like that.</p>
<p>Sona's blushing now, and not just in the tips of her ears. Her cheeks are pink, and it's honestly adorable. "I- I see," she replies, stammering slightly. "In that case, I suppose I can accept. You've earned it after all. I can make time this Saturday evening."</p>
<p>"Perfect," I reply with a large grin. "I can't wait."</p>
<p>She blushes a little harder before clearing her throat. "Anyways!" she blurts out. "Asia, has Rias invited you to the ORC yet?"</p>
<p>I sit back and try not to look as smug as I feel. Her Affection is at 82, and I've been hitting her with [Erotic Dreams] nearly every night since I started the training camp for Rias. I skipped a couple so it would seem more random and less likely to be unnatural, but the idea of us together should be firmly in her head by this point.</p>
<p>"No, she has not, why?" Asia asks.</p>
<p>"One of the benefits of having our clubs is that we can use club activities as an excuse for supernatural business," Sona explains, calming down now that the subject has been changed. "Previously, this has been limited to just our Peerages, but since Axton's arrival, I've decided that that isn't strictly necessary. And so, since Rias hasn't invited you yet, I'd like to invite you to join the Student Council."</p>
<p>"Me?" Asia asks, shocked. "But I just got here, I don't know anything about what the Student Council does."</p>
<p>"I'm aware," Sona says. "But I'm not worried. Consider it a learning experience. You'll join as an assistant, and you'll merely help everyone else out until we find something you excel at. Or maybe we'll find that supporting others is what you're best suited for, either one would be fine."</p>
<p>"It's also a really good way to get the Japanese school experience," I add. "Joining the Student Council will get you involved with most aspects of school life."</p>
<p>Asia hesitates, but I can tell that she's tempted. "And you're part of the Student Council too?" she asks.</p>
<p>"I'm currently part of both the Student Council and the ORC," I answer. "So I'll be here sometimes, but not all the time."</p>
<p>Asia goes quiet, thinking about it, but I feel her determination rising. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll join."</p>
<p>"Excellent," Sona says. "We're happy to have you."</p>
<p>As they start discussing the details of what Asia would be doing as part of the Student Council, my mind wanders to all of the other things I need to take care of. I'm glad Asia now has something to do after school, but this week away has left me with a pile of stuff to take care of. All of it worth it in the end, but it's a lot to juggle.</p>
<p>Hmm. There is something I can do to help me manage it though, and it's even one of the items on my list. I'll take care of it tonight, right when we get home. The sooner, the better.</p>
<p>An hour later, Asia and I are back at my home. The others all went back to their own homes. As much as I'd like to have all of my girls move in with me and spend every night with me, they have their own families and homes. Still, I'd like to get as many of them as possible here. Another long-term project to throw on the pile.</p>
<p>As we arrive back home, I find Wilhelm with [Void Detect] and use [Sound Domain] to ask him to meet me in the basement, where I lead Asia as well.</p>
<p>There are a few entrances scattered through the house to the subfloors of the mansion. There aren't many floors beneath the house. Most of it is, well, a shelter. The entire thing is reinforced enough, according to Serafall, to "withstand the barrage of a Super Class Devil". There are storage closets filled with canned food, water, cots, medical supplies, and anything else that would be needed in an emergency.</p>
<p>But the bulk of it is a singular massive room that Serafall called a training room. It's reinforced from the inside and the outside to be highly resistant to damage and Serafall said it was intended to be used to train without worrying about damaging it.</p>
<p>That being said, there's a slight score on one wall from where I tested it with a [Void Beam]. I'm not sure if the attack just did so much damage it surpassed the defenses, or if it bypassed some of them, but either way, it's still not suitable for practicing my Void attacks. But I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of it anyways.</p>
<p>Like now, when I'm about to use one of my companion gems. I know Wilhelm said that future me had told him that no one was summoned against their will, but he also said I might have to negotiate with them. And if negotiations go poorly and a fight breaks out, I'd rather it happen in the room meant for fighting.</p>
<p>All that being said, I don't anticipate trouble here. But then again, I don't know the person I plan on summoning very well. Still, I'm just trying to be cautious where I can. I'd ask Asia to stay behind, but her presence might keep things calm, and if the person is summoned injured, she's a better quick healing option than my potions.</p>
<p>Asia and I meet Wilhelm in the training room, and I explain what I'm doing.</p>
<p>"Wilhelm already knows this, but Asia, I'm going to let you in on a secret," I explain. "One of the types of items I can get is a gem that will summon specific individuals from other worlds."</p>
<p>Asia's brow furrowed. "Like from the dungeons?"</p>
<p>I shake my head. "No, from worlds like ours, maybe even down to its geography, but they have different people, different factions, even different abilities. There are an infinite number of them out there. Wilhelm is from one of those worlds, and I summoned him with an item like I'm about to use."</p>
<p>Asia's eyes widen as she looks at him. "So when you said you called him…" she started.</p>
<p>"Called is not an inaccurate term for it," Wilhelm says. "From my world, a voice called to me and asked if I wished for a chance to visit another place. Due to various circumstances, I was expecting this call, and I gladly accepted."</p>
<p>I shoot Wilhelm a grateful look for not getting into the whole time travel thing. That would just make this more confusing for Asia.</p>
<p>"He comes from a world where the countries, the races, the magic, and the religions are all very different," I explain.</p>
<p>"Religions?" she asks. "Is...is there a God in your world?"</p>
<p>"There is a divine being that many from my home worship and there were some vile curs that worshipped the Witches. But neither are equivalent to what or how you worship," Wilhelm explains. "I only learned of Christianity after arriving here and doing some studying of this world. We do not have anything like that in our world."</p>
<p>"I see," she says a bit sadly. Her emotions are a bit mixed, part disappointment and part relief. I put a hand and her head comfortingly, and I feel her mood lift as she smiles up at me.</p>
<p>"Due to certain circumstances related to my abilities, I've 'seen' a lot of these different worlds," I explain. "So I know a lot about them." She nods in understanding, accepting the vague explanation at face value. Maxed out Affection scores are great. I take out the Summon Gem for Sakuya Izayoi. "I'll go ahead and use this one then."</p>
<p>I crush the gem, and just like when I summoned Wilhelm, a pillar of light appears in front of me. I can't see inside of it at all, even [Void Detect] just gives me a garbled mess of information, like the area inside is filled with static.</p>
<p>After a moment it fades, revealing Sakuya Izayoi inside. She's not very tall, just a couple inches taller than Asia. She has silver braided hair and striking red eyes, and she's dressed in a blue maid uniform with black stockings. I use [Observe] on her to see how strong she is and nearly flinch.</p>
<p><strong>Sakuya Izayoi<br/></strong> <strong>Level: 6,498[0%]<br/></strong> <strong>Race: Human<br/></strong> <strong>HP: 754,100 (75,410 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>MP: 1,045,900 (104,590 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>SP: 325,500 (32,550 per minute)<br/></strong> <strong>CON: 7,541<br/></strong> <strong>STR: 3,255<br/></strong> <strong>DEX: 8,472<br/></strong> <strong>INT: 10,459<br/></strong> <strong>WIS: 8,745<br/></strong> <strong>CHA: 4,598<br/></strong> <strong>LUK: 2,487</strong></p>
<p>She outclasses even Serafall in almost every stat. This is my first time seeing both a five-digit stat and an MP over a million. How about her more fun stats?</p>
<p><strong>Sakuya Izayoi<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Low<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Low<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 0<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Bisexual<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: None</strong></p>
<p>Hmm. Kind of bland and boring. Bisexual isn't a surprise though, considering the yuri vibes of Touhou. I suppose I should count myself lucky she's bisexual instead of just a lesbian. I can work with this though.</p>
<p>"Hello there Sakuya Izayoi, my name is Axton," I greet her. "Thank you for accepting the summons."</p>
<p>
  <strong>First Impressions perk activated!<br/>+25 Affection with Sakuya Izayoi</strong>
</p>
<p>Nice, that's a good starting amount. And for someone so strong, I very much want to quickly get a high Affection score with her. I'll wait to see if I can get some more Affection with her before I use a Heart Crystal though.</p>
<p>Sakuya curtsies politely in greeting. "For certain reasons, I am currently looking for new employment. Your method of contact was novel, so it piqued my interest."</p>
<p>"I see," I reply. "Well, I'm certainly in need of a skilled maid. I recently come to own this large mansion, and hiring normal maids would be difficult. I'm afraid I don't know much about you or Gensokyo, but you should be familiar with the concepts of other worlds, yes?" She nods. "Right, well this is one such world. And here, the supernatural is also hidden. Hiring mundane maids isn't an option, not unless I could vet each and every one of them. And I could hire from the supernatural factions, but I currently don't have the time to make sure they're not spies."</p>
<p>I shake my head. "I'm sorry, I'm going off on a tangent. In short, hiring new maids and people to assist in the upkeep of this place is tricky to do on short notice. So a maid of your skill would be greatly appreciated. Will you serve as my maid?"</p>
<p>She tilts her head at me. "You've summoned me, but you aren't making demands? Instead, you're asking?"</p>
<p>I shrug. "There's nothing binding you to me or my orders. You've accepted the summon and are here, now, but that's all. You could leave if you wish. I'm not sure how you'd get back to your homeworld, but I'm sure someone like you could find a way, or I could help you given enough time."</p>
<p>Plus, I just saw her stats. There's no way I'm going to try to bully her into anything at all, not when she could kill me a hundred times over before I can blink. Literally, thanks to her ability to stop time. Besides, willing participation based on positive feelings is way safer and more consistent than coercing or intimidating someone to do what you want.</p>
<p>"You won't be alone, for all my talk of not having time to hire help. Wilhelm here is the Head Butler, and I trust him. In the next couple of days, I'll be getting a few more helping hands as well. It also helps that, as of right now, the only three people living in this house full time are Asia, Kyu, and myself" I wrap an arm around Asia's shoulders. "This is Asia by the way. One of my lovers and healer extraordinaire."</p>
<p>Asia blushes at the praise. "It's nice to meet you," Asia says while ducking her head."</p>
<p>"Kyu is a fairy with pink hair. She's a little shy, but you'll probably see her now and then," I explain. "As occupants here increase, so will the workforce. What I'm offering you is the position of the Head Maid, to work alongside Wilhelm as my Head Butler. I don't think I could find a maid more qualified than you, and some of the new hands I get will be inexperienced and will need training and supervision."</p>
<p>"I see," she replies. "Very well, I'll agree to serve you as your Head Maid. On one condition."</p>
<p>"Name it," I say, a little nervous. I have no idea what sort of condition or price she'll be interested in. I know too little about her.</p>
<p>"I will <em>only</em> serve as your maid," she states firmly. "I will clean up your messes around this home, but not the ones outside of it. I will not fight your battles or take care of your enemies. I am not a fighter or an assassin or a thug. I will defend this home and its occupants, but I will be a maid, not a soldier."</p>
<p>"That's perfectly acceptable," I respond immediately, though in truth my feelings are mixed. Someone with such high stats would make a lot of issues coming in the near future practically irrelevant. And I could breeze through dungeons and do some real power leveling.</p>
<p>But on the other hand, not only is that one of the easiest things she could have requested, I also don't want to rely solely on a powerful ally. I'm not some hot-headed shounen protagonist, even if I have my moments of poor decision-making. But I am a Gamer, and no self-respecting Gamer is going to sit back and rely on someone else's strength. Making strong allies is one thing. Relying on them alone to do the heavy lifting without me doing anything? Absolutely not.</p>
<p>"Defending my home and the people I care about within it is already more than enough to lift a burden off of my shoulders," I continue.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Sakuya Izayoi</strong>
</p>
<p>"In that case, I look forward to serving you Master…?" she trails off, looking at me questioningly. Ah, right.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, I guess I failed to introduce myself," I say. "My name is Axton Smith, but feel free to call me anything except Smith."</p>
<p>"Master Axton then," she replies. "Is there anything in particular you require of me?"</p>
<p>"For your general duties, coordinate with Wilhelm here about what needs to be done," I reply. "Divide the work between the two of you based on your preferences and skills." An idea strikes me. "But there is one responsibility that I'd like to ask you to take on, and that is waking me up. Every weekday I have to be up at a certain time to go to school. If you could wake me up every morning at that time with a breakfast prepared, it would be appreciated."</p>
<p>She nods, accepting it. "Very well Master Axton," she says. "Is there anything else?"</p>
<p>"Nothing from me personally, unless you have any questions?" She shakes her head. "In that case, I'll leave you to Wilhelm to help catch you up." I turn to him. "Feel free to tell her about my current abilities and the state of things."</p>
<p>"Understood, I will handle it from here," he says, one hand over his chest.</p>
<p>The two of them start talking while walking out of the training area. As they walk away, Asia speaks up. "She looks a lot like that woman that was with Rias's brother at the Rating Game," she comments.</p>
<p>"Grayfia?" I ask, and Asia nods. "Yep, they're practically mirror images of each other. Though Sakuya is a little shorter and wears stockings. It's going to be interesting when they meet."</p>
<p>"They're not related, are they?" Asia asks. "I mean, she's from a different world, there's no way they can be."</p>
<p>"They're not," I confirm. "But the fact that she's from a different world is a secret, so explaining things might be a little difficult." I shrug. "Doesn't matter though, we'll figure that out when we get there." Asia nods in understanding.</p>
<p>"In the meantime, there's a part of the house I want to show you," I continue. Grabbing her by the hand, I pull her forwards and [Void Travel] to an area behind the house. "Welcome to the greenhouse!" I say.</p>
<p>The building in front of me is indeed a greenhouse, with emphasis on 'house', because it's the size of one. It's larger than my entire old apartment twice over. And inside is plenty of equipment and subsections that can each be controlled at a different state. Perfect for growing my own special plants.</p>
<p>Asia's eyes widen. "Wow, it's so big!"</p>
<p>"You liked tending to the plants back in my apartment, right?" I ask her.</p>
<p>She nods. "It's relaxing and I like seeing them grow up so fast and healthy," she confirms.</p>
<p>"Well then, I hope you like upgrading from some pots in front of a window to this, because I'll leave this entire greenhouse to you," I tell her. "I have some magical plants that need special care, and I'd appreciate it if you could help grow those for me to use in my potions."</p>
<p>"I'd love to!" she replies, beaming up at me. We enter the greenhouse together, and the first thing we see is a small entry. On one wall is a map on a whiteboard with an erasable marker next to it. I guess so you could designate each room with what's in there? On another wall is a row of aprons and various farming tools.</p>
<p>Asia's eyes sparkle and she immediately starts putting on an apron. I laugh, and pull a mixture of seeds and plants from my inventory, putting them in a nearby container. "I can see you're raring to go, so I'll leave you to it. I'll be nearby doing some work of my own, just shout for me if you need me. I'll keep an ear out for you."</p>
<p>"Okay!" she responds cheerily, and I leave the greenhouse. With her having [Dryad's Aura], I should be set for all the magical plants I need for my [Alchemy]. Speaking of [Alchemy], I should get some of that done soon. But first, there's something I've put off for a while that I need to take care of.</p>
<p>I [Void Travel] to the warehouse I butchered the Ender Dragon in. It's not empty anymore. Instead, the Orbiter is sitting there. I moved it with another Soul empowered [Void Travel] a few hours after I brought it to this world before I left to go watch Rias's Rating Game. This warehouse is locked, and only Wilhelm has the key, so I'm not too worried about it being here.</p>
<p>Still, now that I have some time and no pressing concerns, I can investigate it more thoroughly. I've left it alone long enough as is. I activate [Void Detect] to see what I'm working with.</p>
<p>Two things immediately stand out. First, that as far as I can tell, the outside of the ship is unblemished. I can't even find a hole where air would be leaking out of, but it's a little hard to tell due to the second thing I noticed. Which is that there's some level of space fuckery going on. If I'm sensing this right, the inside of the Orbiter is bigger than the outside. Not by a lot, but enough that it's noticeable.</p>
<p>Thankfully [Void Detect] doesn't have issues with that level of spatial manipulation. And after I make certain that the outside is undamaged, I step inside with a quick [Void Travel]. Who needs walking when you can teleport? Not that there's a way to enter the ship otherwise. At least, not one I could recognize. The only entrance I could find was also the connection between the Orbiter and the landing craft, which was the standard arrowhead-shaped Liset. As I arrive inside, I also note that the Liset is untouched.</p>
<p>The inside of the ship definitely isn't though. I've already seen it, but the inside is pretty damaged. The fighting must have been fierce. I'm no forensic analyst, so I couldn't recreate the actual fight just based on this evidence. But very few parts of the ship are unscathed.</p>
<p>In fact, as I walk through with [Void Detect] active, I realize only one is. Down past the arsenal, on the opposite side of the Tenno's personal quarters, there's a door that leads to a special room, one I had forgotten about before now.</p>
<p>I hadn't checked it last time due to following the signs of fighting, which go down the other side of the ship. But now I stepped up to the door. The ship seems to still have power, at least enough for some lighting and door operation. And as the door opens, I look into a room and confirm what [Void Detect] already told me, an empty room</p>
<p>It's not completely empty. In the center is a chair with a robotic arm ending with surgical equipment, and in the back is a tank. But the room is clean, and it's definitely not supposed to be.</p>
<p>If the Orokin were good at anything, it was making weapons that turned against them. The Tenno were one of those, alongside the Sentients. But one of their more versatile creations was the Infestation.</p>
<p>The Infestation is a biomechanical pathogen capable of converting flesh and robotics to more of its own kind. The name is pretty on the nose, it infested things and took them over, and added them to its hivemind.</p>
<p>Honestly, it's basically just a rip-off of Flood from Halo, but with more colors and it works on robotics as well.</p>
<p>The Infestation is pretty versatile though, and there are a couple of strains of it. One of them is the Helminth strain, and that strain was responsible for the creation of the original Warframes. By infecting soldiers with the Helminth, they would be twisted into far more powerful biomechanical beings capable of amazing things. However, the experience also drove them insane.</p>
<p>That is until the Tenno came along. The Tenno could connect to the turned soldiers, control them, calm them down. And so, the Tenno become operators of the Warframes.</p>
<p>It's not clear if <em>every</em> Warframe is a converted person. Gameplay versus lore made it difficult to tell how certain things worked out. My money was on no, that the original Warframes were scanned and replicated in a way that could be built instead.</p>
<p>But either way, the Helminth's role in the Warframe didn't end with just creating them. It also extended to managing them, repairing them, and modifying them. And so, every Tenno had a sample of the Helminth aboard their ship, locked away in a special room.</p>
<p>The Helminth wasn't as hostile as the other strains of the Infestation and was even beneficial. And as I looked around the room, looking for any sign of it, I couldn't decide if that was the only thing keeping me from panicking, or if it ultimately didn't matter.</p>
<p>Because the Helminth is gone. Or rather, it's not here. And I have no idea when it disappeared.</p>
<p>When I arrived on the ship, while it was floating in the Void, I didn't investigate this area at all. I didn't go near it and I had [Void Detect] because of the sensory overload. And when I was spreading my soul through the ship, I have no idea if it was there then. I was more focused on the hull of the ship, on grabbing as much of it as I could. And when I arrived back in this world, I didn't think to check then either.</p>
<p>Hell, it took me seeing the door to even register that it was something that needed checking. It wasn't an aspect of the game I ever really interacted with. But this isn't a game, not in the sense that it is restricted in its mechanics by whatever the developers add. It's a super-advanced biomechanical weapon with a mind of its own.</p>
<p>But the question is, did it make it to DxD? It's not unreasonable to think that it died long before I stepped onto the Orbiter. How many years did it spend in the Void? I'm not sure what sustained the Helminth, but I doubt it could get it in the Void. But if it died, wouldn't the 'corpse', for lack of a better word, still be here?</p>
<p>I'm looking all around the ship and finding nothing, but a possible answer presents itself to me. Self-cannibalization. It could have definitely eaten itself, slowly staving off starvation that way, leaving behind just the barest speck that eroded to dust on its death.</p>
<p>I grimace. Or at least, it theoretically could have done that. I don't know enough about the Helminth to say how possible that is.</p>
<p>Okay, so let's say it was alive when I brought it back. Where is it? I've already confirmed that there are no holes in the hull, and the only way into the Orbiter is through the landing craft connection. I've checked every inch of the Orbiter and the landing craft and it's not anywhere in either of them.</p>
<p>Could it have opened a hatch or something I don't know about? I didn't get the impression it was that mobile though. Or mobile at all. Or that it would have a reason to escape.</p>
<p>I shake my head. No, there's no way for it to have gotten out, and it doesn't have a motive. It must have died before I got there, nothing else makes sense. It was scary for a moment, having something like that missing, but no, there's nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>Too bad it's missing though. There are so many broken Warframe parts that I'm not sure I can fix without the help of the Helminth. Oh well, I have at least one intact Warframe, and I'll figure out something to do with the parts.</p>
<p>Speaking of which. I go around and collect all of the Warframe parts, scooping them into my inventory. As I do so, I also go around and check each piece of equipment. Most of them are fucked, with massive gashes in them rendering them inoperable. If I had to guess, it was done by Nidhogg, the greatsword I picked up from here. The damage looks deliberate, and there are very few bullet holes in them. Sabotage by the attacker?</p>
<p>The only things unscathed are the Helminth room and the Transference room. The Transference room, the room that had contained the Tenno's corpse, has some minor damage, but not much was in here in the first place besides the transference chair, or throne, or chamber, or whatever it's called. The white root-like material that led to it is untouched as well. I consider getting a sample but decide to hold off for now. I can always mess around with it later, and I don't know what messing with it now will do.</p>
<p>But none of the equipment responsible for maintaining, storing, or modifying the weaponry works at all, and neither do the navigation systems. Even the radio is busted.</p>
<p>It's a little strange that I can't find where the weapons are stored with [Void Detect], but I suspect that there's something extra-dimensional happening. There's a spatial warping in the walls to make the inside larger than the outside, and it's not impossible for it to also lead to a sort of pocket space where everything is stored.</p>
<p>So to access them, I'll either need spatial manipulation skills, which would be risky, or I need to repair the Orbiter, which will be difficult, but safer. The question is, how to do it.</p>
<p>My options are to develop the skills for it myself, find an item that can do it, or find someone smart enough to figure it out.</p>
<p>The first would be time-consuming. I would most likely have to obtain [Blacksmithing], max it out, and then max out who knows how many other skills until I can unlock a mechanical skill good enough to repair this.</p>
<p>The second would be relying on luck and waiting for a good item, if it even existed. A quick scroll through the Hunie store didn't bring up any items that could work.</p>
<p>The third method made me uneasy. In terms of people in DxD who are potentially up to the task, only two names come to mind. Ajuka Beelzebub, and <em>maybe</em> Azazel. Azazel is more of a Sacred Gear focused researcher, but he has a few mad scientist-like devices unrelated to Sacred Gears, so it's possible he could manage it.</p>
<p>I'm hesitant to allow either of them access to this though. Mostly because I don't want to answer questions about where it came from or who made it. But also because I'm not sure I want either of them learning how to make Orokin level technology.</p>
<p>Sure, I'm allied with the Devils, and I'm working on my relationship with the Fallen, but I don't want <em>anyone</em> making Orokin technology. Call me paranoid, but my gut tells me that there's no way that doesn't end poorly.</p>
<p>I sigh. I'll have to leave it for now then. Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll jump to a world with a genius I feel like I can trust, one that's not the leader of an entire Faction of people and won't be tempted to use what they learn to equip an army. Not that I think Ajuka or Azazel would do that. But the paranoia that they <em>might</em> is something I can't shake.</p>
<p>Satisfied that I've gleaned all I can from the Orbiter, I leave the ship and head back into the house. I arrive in a room near the back of the mansion and look around.</p>
<p>This room is my own personal alchemy lab. To be honest, there's not much here. I told Serafall that I'd supply the equipment I need, not wanting to give her any hints on how my potions are made. Though the truth is more like I don't need much.</p>
<p>The room itself is simple. No windows and a thick heavy door. The walls are plain and unadorned wood, and the floor is concrete. There are a few cupboards and tables along the walls, but there's plenty of space in the center. Which is good, I need it for the other form of [Alchemy], the one I plan on doing now.</p>
<p>Taking out some chalk, I draw the magic circle I need for item combination on the ground, once again choosing the variant to add the attributes of four objects to a focus. This is something I've been working towards for a while now, and I could have done it before the Rating Game with Riser, but it would have been overkill. Besides, I ran out of time to make stuff.</p>
<p>Circle complete, I pull the ingredients I plan on using out of my inventory and place them in the appropriate spots. In the center, I place my Hestia knife, as I want that to be the core of the new item. It's a good knife that only gets better, but it's time for an upgrade.</p>
<p>In the circles around it, I place the other items. First is the void plate, to make it strong and connected to the Void. I would have used it in my armor, but there wasn't enough for decent coverage, so I'll have to settle for using it to reinforce my weapon.</p>
<p>Second is the Hive Crystal. The power and connection to the Dark would only make it stronger. Opposite to the Light that is part of my soul now, the Dark operated on something called the Sword Logic, and according to the Sword Logic, power is gained through killing. It's more complicated than that, but boiling it down to just 'killing equals strength' isn't wrong either.</p>
<p>The compatibility of the Sword Logic with the Hestia Knife's growth has so much potential I didn't use the Hive Crystal in my own racial transformation. Wielding both Light and Dark can be powerful, but I'd get more out of the Dark this way. Or so I believe.</p>
<p>Third is the pale ore from Hollow Knight. I'm not entirely sure what pale ore is. It's a metal, that's for certain, but the properties it holds are a mystery to me. But I can make some inferences. Describing it as 'pale' surely isn't a coincidence, which means that on some level it shares properties with the Pale King and the Pale Lady, both of whom are considered 'higher beings'. I don't believe they were truly gods, but maybe close to that?</p>
<p>More importantly, if I had to guess, I would say that Pale things in Hollow Knight are related to the Soul. That's partially based on coloration, which is a tenuous connection, but it also follows my gut. If the Radiance, the enemy, has her domain in Dreams, and the Void is the Void, then the missing piece between them could very well be Soul. Dreams above, Void below, and Soul in the middle.</p>
<p>At the end of the day it's a baseless guess, but it feels right to me. So I include the pale ore in the hopes it helps with using Soul through it, or collecting Soul faster.</p>
<p>Finally, I place Nidhogg in the last circle, stabbing it into the concrete within the circle. It slides easily in, showcasing its sharpness. I thought long and hard on whether or not to include this. But in the end, I settled on doing so.</p>
<p>Do I know the origins of this weapon? No, I don't, and that's the scariest thing about it. But I know that it's powerful. I know that if there's a possibility that the weapon can be tracked, my only options are getting rid of it, destroying it, or assimilating it. Using it as an [Alchemy] ingredient <em>should</em> be enough to make it untraceable.</p>
<p>And more importantly, it's an immortal killer. Possibly even a god killer. Combined with the Sword Logic and the power of Soul? It should make a weapon that can kill <em>anything</em>. Or at least, any <em>being</em>. Concepts and ideas and such are probably a bit above it. For now at least. I think the Dark can theoretically affect things on that level, but that'll require some experimentation.</p>
<p>Using it does prevent me from using it to track down its origins, but I don't have the skills for that right now, and I'm not entirely sure I want to track them down. So long as they don't come for me, I don't have any reason to find them. Except maybe to thank them for leaving the Orbiter for me to salvage.</p>
<p>Mind made up, I kneel in front of the circle, place my hand on one of the lines, and push my mana into it, starting the process. All of the ingredients turn into blobs of light that travel along the chalk lines of the circle towards the center, where they all meld into a singular blob, which reshapes itself. As the process finishes, and the light dims, my new weapon is revealed.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Ouroboros<br/>A short blade that embodies the concept of Killing. Punctures magical and physical defenses. Grows in strength alongside the user and after each kill. Replenishes more Soul per hit.</strong>
</p>
<p>[Observe] describes it as a 'short blade', but I'd call it a dagger. It looks like a long and straight-edged tanto. It has two edges and lacks a hilt. I can tell it's designed to pierce defenses and stab into beings.</p>
<p>The entire thing is a slate gray. I suppose that makes sense, considering that most of the things that went into it were either white or black. The metal itself is strange. It doesn't look worked, like normal metal. It almost looks organic, but there are too many straight lines for that. It barely reflects any light at all though, lacking any sort of shine.</p>
<p>All in all, I'm pretty pleased. It's the perfect assassination tool, I can't ask for something better. Except for maybe something with range. But in terms of melee weapons, it's perfect.</p>
<p>I stash the weapon in my inventory and wipe away the remnants of the chalk circle. Now that that is done, I have the less fun alchemy to do, making the potions that I sold to Michael, Serafall, and Azazel. Still, it's important, and I need to get it done some time, especially with the Fallen arriving in a couple days.</p>
<p>My mind wanders as I go through the motions of making the potions. Right now, the biggest thing on my mind is the three factions that I'm making these potions for. Part of Serafall's grand scheme is to use me as a bridge between the factions to form official peace. In canon, I know a peace treaty was made, but that was only after Kokabiel attacked.</p>
<p>I suppose I could do the same thing. Kokabiels attack is still coming. It'll be different from his attack in canon I assume. Some aspects have already changed after all. But the gist of it should be the same. And including myself in that process would be easy. I'm already a neutral party that the factions are creating links to.</p>
<p>Is that the best way to go about it though? Maybe, maybe not. I'm pulled from thinking about other possible paths to follow by my phone going off. Putting my potion equipment down, I pull out my phone and see a text from Momo.</p>
<p>Momo: <em>A suggestion for where to take Sona on Saturday ;)</em></p>
<p>It's followed by a link, and clicking on it leads me to a landing page for some indie movie festival. It seems like they'll be showing a few short movies from different promising indie directors. I guess Sona is into that sort of thing? I never would have guessed.</p>
<p>Axton: <em>Thanks, babe. What would I do without you?</em></p>
<p>As I text her back, [Void Detect] picks up a familiar form creeping through my home. My interest is very piqued. I also notice Sakuya noticing her, but Wilhelm stops her from taking any action when she checks with him. Good job Wilhelm, I definitely want this one to play out.</p>
<p>I stash my equipment in my inventory. I was pretty much done anyway, and I don't want to give my visitor any hints on how my potions are made. Instead, I sit back and text with Momo a bit while I wait for them to find me. I expect it to take a while, due to my Void nature preventing people from detecting me, but to my surprise, she heads straight towards me after sending out a pulse of magic.</p>
<p>A minute later my door silently opens and closes behind me as my visitor slips in, and they creep towards me without making a single noise.</p>
<p>"Not that I mind you visiting, but I don't remember giving you my address," I say in a casual voice, not even turning around.</p>
<p>They stop moving for a moment, and I note that [Empathy] doesn't pick them up, nor do I sense any magic except through [Void Detect]. Truly, her stealth skills are impressive, but not good enough.</p>
<p>And then I do detect her, the feeling of her magic, her life force, and the sound of her body all appearing at once. She sighs. "And here I was, hoping for revenge for all those times you snuck up behind me," Kuroka mutters.</p>
<p>I turn my seat around to face her, my arms crossed smugly. "You'll have to try a little harder than that," I tell her.</p>
<p>She pouts in response. "Harder than suppressing every possible sign of my presence? That's not easy, you know. You sure do ask a lot."</p>
<p>I shrug, but I'm grinning as well. "I'm sure that if you <em>really</em> want to sneak up on me, you'll find a way." She just pouts further, but I see her tails flick in amusement. Huh. I don't think I would have picked up on that body language before my race change.</p>
<p>"So to what do I owe the pleasure," I ask her. "I certainly don't mind the company, or the eye candy, but I suspect you're not just here to hang out."</p>
<p>"Is that something you'd like?" she asks teasingly.</p>
<p>"Of course," I reply easily. "I'd love to have a pretty kitty such as yourself on my lap."</p>
<p>A confident smirk grows on her face, and she walks up to me, closing the distance between us. Without any hesitation, she wraps her arms around my neck and straddles my lap. Her already very short kimono rides up, revealing herself and her lack of panties. "Like this?" she asks, her tone husky.</p>
<p>I place my hands on her hips. "I was picturing fewer clothes in the way, but something like this yeah," I reply.</p>
<p>She makes a noise of amusement. "As fun as that sounds, you're right, I do have a reason for coming here."</p>
<p>She says that, but she also doesn't move. Not that I'm complaining. Her kimono is cut low, leaving her cleavage prominent, and due to her spread legs, her pussy is also on display. Eye candy is definitely the right word.</p>
<p>"And what reason is that?" I ask her, not bothering to hide the way I'm looking her over.</p>
<p>"Two reasons actually," she says. "The least important of which is you. I saw your fight against that Phenex brat. And I saw your form there."</p>
<p>"You mean this one?" I say as I reveal my Nekoshou features. I had them hidden to go to school and had honestly just forgotten to reveal them.</p>
<p>Her eyes widen and latch onto my ears and swaying tail, darting between them. "They're real," she says in wonder. "But...you're not a Nekomata, are you?"</p>
<p>"Only slightly," I say. "And yes, it happened after our last meeting. I decided that being <em>just</em> human was a little too limiting, so I...upgraded a bit. Nekoshou isn't the only new addition to my biology either."</p>
<p>"I saw the Devil wings," she comments. "Easy enough to guess where those came from."</p>
<p>I grin. "Devil wings?" I ask, causing her to pause. "I guess I can see why people would think that. But no, I have no amount of Devil in me."</p>
<p>Her eyes widen in realization. "Then those wings are- but where did you get a sample?" She shakes her head. "No wait, that's not what I came here to ask. I assume you needed a sample to make the change?" Her tone is still light, but I feel pressure coming from her. "Then where did you get the Nekoshou sample?"</p>
<p>Ah. "From Koneko," I start, and the pressure from her increases dramatically, and I feel her fingernails turn to claws and prick against the back of my neck. "A few strands of her fur, willingly given to me after I explained what I wanted it for."</p>
<p>The pressure mostly fades, but Kuroka is still glaring at me. I guess anything resembling experimentation involving her sister is a touchy subject. "You promise that was all?" Kuroka asks.</p>
<p>"No scans, no blood, no participation from her needed," I assure her. "Just a bit of fur from her tail that has probably already grown back that I dropped in a potion alongside some other ingredients. And like I said. I asked, explaining why I wanted it, and she agreed. I didn't pressure or even bargain with her."</p>
<p>Kuroka studies my face for a moment, trying to determine if I'm lying. But eventually, she relaxes. Her claws retract, the pressure fades completely, and she slumps a bit with a sigh. "Why <em>did</em> you want it anyway?"</p>
<p>"Mostly Senjutsu," I say. "I have a technique that empowers me similarly to Touki, but it interferes with my ability to cast other spells. I suspect a Senjutsu version wouldn't have that drawback. And Senjutsu is a useful skill overall. Besides," my tail flicks around between us. "It's not a half-bad look for me, is it?"</p>
<p>Thankfully she relaxed and has switched back to a flirtatious mood. "I might be a little biased, but I definitely agree," she purrs. "Still, while we're on the topic. Little Shirone is the second reason I came here."</p>
<p>"What did you think of her performance?" I ask, contemplating using my lewd skills on her. I'm getting pretty horny, having her on my lap like this, and I definitely wouldn't mind this little interaction going a bit further.</p>
<p>But I hold off. My lewd skills are subtle, but only when I use them against people who aren't very experienced in sex. Most of the time I can disguise an increase in arousal or a heightened sense of pleasure as natural reactions to me, which increases how much they think they're attracted to me, which makes them actually more attracted to me.</p>
<p>But someone like Kuroka? She's already so sensuous, and I'd be surprised if she's a virgin. She knows what arousal is and what arouses her. She'd easily be able to pick out abnormal reactions. And since she's also a pervert skilled at magic, no doubt she'd immediately suspect me of using magic like that on her.</p>
<p>Besides, as flirtatious as she's acting, there's still a wall there inside of her. A wall of hesitance and unease. I suspect the show I'm getting right now was just to get me to lower my guard, so she could have made a move if she didn't like the answer I gave her about how I became part Nekoshou.</p>
<p>Which isn't to say that it's all an act. There's some very real arousal there, and it spiked when I revealed my Nekoshou features. But unfortunately, I don't think I can capitalize on that now, not while she still has that fear of me. It's decreased a bit since the last time we met, possibly because she's more in control like this, but it's still there.</p>
<p>"As you said, she didn't play a key role, but she certainly did get a shot at showing off," Kuroka says. "The Bomb Queen's attacks are potent, I'm impressed she was able to mostly shake it off, even as a Rook."</p>
<p>"As appealing as the jack of all trades route is, I decided to focus on her Rook features during her training," I reply. "Mostly her defense. Rias's Peerage is heavy on offensive members. A more defensive role fit both her and the team as a whole better."</p>
<p>"I'd prefer a more balanced approach, but I suppose you had to consider the team as a whole," Kuroka replies. "That being said…" she trails off, and I can feel some nervousness from her.</p>
<p>"Meeting Koneko, huh?" I ask, and Kuroka nods. "I think you should go for it. I think it might be hard at first, but in the long term, the sooner it happens, the sooner you can reconcile."</p>
<p>"You think she'll be angry?" Kuroka asks, her voice lacking the energy it did before.</p>
<p>"I honestly have no idea," I say truthfully. "It's a messy situation and Koneko is hard to read. But if you want, I can arrange a meeting here, and I can be there to help keep things calm."</p>
<p>She looks at me. "And whose side would you be on?"</p>
<p>I tilt my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"If things go poorly, and you can only support one of us, who do you choose?" she asks, tone serious.</p>
<p>"I don't know where this is coming from," I say as I think. "And honestly, I'm having trouble imagining a scenario like that. But if I had to choose…" I trail off before nodding. I look Kuroka straight in the eyes. "I'd choose Koneko."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Kuroka</strong>
</p>
<p>She smiles at me. "Good," she says before climbing off me. I try to ignore my disappointment as she gets up. "In that case, I'll take you up on that offer. I'll tell you when I'm ready, there are things I need to take care of soon."</p>
<p>"You're welcome to stop by whenever you want," I tell her. "And I have plenty of rooms if you need a place to crash."</p>
<p>"I'll keep that in mind," she says. "It's a pretty nice place." I see her disappear before my eyes, but it's still easy to pinpoint her with [Void Detect].</p>
<p>"You don't have to sneak out you know," I say amused. She flicks her tails at me in acknowledgment, but she slips out of the room still invisible, and I shake my head. Who am I to tell a person they can't sneak around?</p>
<p>I pull my alchemy stuff back out. Just a few more potions to finish, and then Asia and I can have dinner. And maybe I'll be able to rope her and Kyu into having some fun before bed.</p>
<p>I get back to work, my energy restored now that I have something to look forward to.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Sakuya Izayoi was still unsure exactly how she felt about her new Master. Her introduction to him had been brief, but the impression she got was that he was simply busy. This wasn't unreasonable for someone who had cause to summon her as a maid.</p>
<p>Not that she had much experience in being summoned like this. She had seen a lot of strange things, been to many strange places, and had served several very different masters in her time. While this wasn't the strangest circumstances she had found herself in, it was unique in its own way.</p>
<p>Still, she wasn't worried. She hadn't even served him for a whole day yet, and it seems he was new to being a Master. The Head Butler, Wilhelm van Astrea, was a capable man, and very loyal. If Axton-sama could inspire that kind of loyalty with a man like Wilhelm, then he was probably a decent man himself.</p>
<p>She wondered what he was though. He certainly wasn't human. When she asked Wilhelm, he admitted to not being sure. Wilhelm-san knew that Axton-sama started out human, but changed himself through experiments with magical potions. But he didn't know exactly what changes Axton-sama had made.</p>
<p>Still, that was enough to satisfy her curiosity. It wouldn't be the first time she had met someone like that. And speaking of her new Master, it was about time to wake him up. Breakfast was mostly prepared and was being kept warm, and it was nearly the time she was instructed to wake him up. Good. With a nod of satisfaction, she swiftly walked towards Axton-sama's bedroom.</p>
<p>All things considered, it wasn't too far of a trip. Axton-sama's estate was moderately large, but it was well designed, and the dining quarters she had prepared breakfast in were located close to the bedrooms. It only took her a minute to reach the door to the master bedroom.</p>
<p>She knocked on the door, loud enough to hopefully wake him, but not so loud it would jolt him awake. "Axton-sama, it is time to wake up," she called through the closed door. She waited for a reply or the sound of shuffling sheets. Neither came. It appeared that her new Master is a heavy sleeper. She knocked harder and repeated her call. Nothing.</p>
<p>No matter. She opened the door instead and entered the bedroom. If knocking won't do, then she'd simply take more direct action. Or so she thought, but she stopped in surprise as soon as the bed came into sight.</p>
<p>On it was Axton-sama, but he wasn't alone. Asia-dono was curled up into his side, and on his other side was the pink-haired fairy Axton-sama had told her about. And all three of them were naked and covered in bodily fluids.</p>
<p>Sakuya felt a surge of heat in her core as she looked at them. She was no blushing virgin, she had lived a long life and had several lovers in that time. Though admittedly, it had been a <em>very</em> long time since her last one. She usually didn't have much of an interest in that sort of thing.</p>
<p>But the sight of her new Master, his rather large endowment, and the clear signs of his two lovers' enjoyment clearly marked all over their bodies...and dripping out of their holes, sent a rush of heat through her unlike any she had felt in a long long time.</p>
<p>But she was a professional, so she schooled her expression and made sure not to outwardly react. "Axton-sama, it is time to wake up."</p>
<p>Finally, he stirred, opening his eyes and looking at her. His golden eyes lock with her briefly, and she swears she sees a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Good morning Sakuya," he greets her with a yawn. The girls start to stir, getting up as well. "Thanks for the wake-up call, we'll be down for breakfast in just a couple minutes," Axton-sama continues. "We need to...clean up a bit first."</p>
<p>Indeed they did. "Very well. I'll lay breakfast out on the table for you," she said with a curtsy. She quickly turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her.</p>
<p>She didn't let herself sigh. Wilhelm-san hadn't told her the specifics of what Axton-sama could do, but he did say his senses were extraordinary. She had noticed the cat ears and tail, even as distracted as she was by...other aspects of him. Some sort of Youkai blood perhaps? He did have that Youkai visitor last night that snuck in.</p>
<p>However, she did allow herself to relax a bit as she headed back to the dining quarters. She had a better idea of what kind of person her new Master was now. At least the girls seemed more than happy to be with him, and unless Asia-dono was an exception, they seemed to be with him out of genuine care, and not for some more shallow or sinister reason.</p>
<p>So her Master had multiple lovers, prodigious stamina, and was a little mischievous. She wondered if he was actually asleep or if she had been baited inside. It's possible his amusement was a reaction to the situation, rather than satisfaction at a prank.</p>
<p>Either way, she didn't mind too much. There were worse qualities to have in a Master, and so long as he did not attempt to pressure or force her into anything, she did not mind putting up with a bit of indecent exposure.</p>
<p>Her mind flashed back to the sigh of his naked body. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to indulge a little bit, it had been <em>so</em> long, and he was-</p>
<p>She shook her head, clearing those thoughts. No, that wouldn't do, it would be unbecoming of her.</p>
<p>Though a thought occurred to her as she laid out breakfast for three on the table. She was going to have to wash his bedsheets every single day, wasn't she?</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>+7 Affection with Sakuya Izayoi</strong>
</p>
<p>And there it is. I grin as I rub a sponge over Asia's back in the shower. It seems she appreciated the show after all. I guess she just had to mull over it a bit, let it settle in.</p>
<p>Of course, I had helped out a little bit. Her first knock had woken me up, but I had wanted her to come in and see, so I muffled the sound of it so it wouldn't wake Kyu or Asia up and pretended to still be asleep, forcing her to come inside. And when she did so, I hit her with [Erotic Pierrot], which had upgraded at level 50, changing the line of sight requirement to just needing to be within a certain range of them.</p>
<p>Was using [Erotic Pierrot] on her a risky plan? Absolutely. But it was a calculated risk. I didn't know enough about her to say for certain how she'd react to her arousal suddenly being enflamed, but my gut said it would be fine, and I trusted my gut. Besides, in the case where she realized that I was manipulating her arousal, I trusted in her professionalism. She would either silently bear it, though grow annoyed or even angry, and I'd pick up on that with [Empathy] and would immediately stop. Or she would politely ask me to stop.</p>
<p>Both options still soured my relationship with her right off the bat, but it was something I could recover from given time. So all in all, the risks weren't too bad. And in the end, it looks like it paid off.</p>
<p>I'm not entirely sure how to handle getting Sakuya in my bed. I don't know enough about her, but it's clear that she holds herself up to being an outstanding maid, and has certain standards and rules for that. Just asking her to service me right off the bat will likely go poorly.</p>
<p>So I just went with my default plan. Make her horny for me. Given enough time and the right manipulation, it'll be enough. I'm not in a rush either, I have plenty of girls to sleep with. Don't get me wrong, I <em>really</em> want to see the better version of Grayfia between my legs. But she's also the most powerful, and potentially one of the oldest, girls I've targeted yet. And that means taking my time is the best plan.</p>
<p>Still, I'm proud of the scene she walked in on. Last night, I barely had to bring up the subject of spending some quality time with both Kyu and Asia before they jumped at the chance. I guess it shouldn't have been surprising. Yesterday morning Asia invited Kyu to join next time, and Kyu is Kyu. A threesome with a cute nun? No way she was gonna pass that chance up.</p>
<p>So we 'turned in' early and the two girls drained me dry once again. What did surprise me was how attentive Asia was to Kyu whenever I was focusing on her. [Lewd Scouter] still shows Asia as straight, but that didn't stop her from kissing, groping, and caressing Kyu whenever I had my dick inside of her, maximizing the pleasure Kyu felt. Kyu happily returned the favor, but that wasn't a surprise at all.</p>
<p>Still, it was a good night, and unlike most of my harem, both of them lived with me, so I can experience the same thing every night. As the three of us finish washing each other, I can't help but smile. Because damn it feels good to be a Gamer.</p>
<hr/>
<p>I have pretty mixed feelings about going through this school life. On one hand, I get to spend all day with my girls in their cute uniforms, but on the other, it's still school. Laughably easy school due to my INT, but still school. Classes are boring, so I usually spend them pretending to pay attention while I practice some of my skills.</p>
<p>My detection skills are the big ones. [Sound Domain] lets me eavesdrop on the whole school. To be honest, I don't hear anything particularly interesting. But focusing on specific conversations and tweaking things here and there make for great practice with the skill. I've also started making noises in empty classrooms when people walk by them, curious if I could get rumors of a ghost started.</p>
<p>[Void Detect] is also something I use to check out the school. Its range is a little bigger than [Sound Domain], so I pick up more stuff. And visual information is a lot more interesting than just the sounds, especially when I discover that Kyu was right. Students sneaking away to do the dirty deed in stairwells and closets happens a couple times a day. If I didn't already have plans for lunch, I'd do the same.</p>
<p>[Void Sight] received a massive increase in range after my race change. Or more specifically, after my trait upgraded from Void Touched to Void Blessed. My range now covered the entire planet. I could peer over the streets of New York City while sitting in class. Mostly I just used it to look at a bunch of places so I could teleport to them in the future. I was still only about halfway through the list of major cities I had made. I had to use a daisy chain of [Void Sight] uses to find new places, and it made the process a little slow. But it's good XP.</p>
<p>In addition to those skills, I also practice manipulating my Soul. I had asked Kyu out of annoyance earlier about why the Game System doesn't keep better track of that, and she told me it did. Apparently, my total level, which is currently 321, corresponds directly with the strength of my Soul. The reason the System doesn't quantify it beyond that is apparently it's tricky to do so. Mostly because of the way the System is attached to my soul and how it interacts with it.</p>
<p>According to her, the Love Fairies who are in charge of developing this System marked it as a low priority, due to the time and effort it would take to properly quantify it and how rarely it came up for most people using the System.</p>
<p>Which meant no proper skills, no bar to tell me how much Soul Power or Soul Points or whatever I have left. Just a level that corresponded to the strength of my Soul in a way that I didn't fully understand, and whatever I could determine with my own senses, the old-fashioned way.</p>
<p>So I spent a lot of class doing that. I meditate on my Soul, and I even practice manipulating it, creating simple shapes in my hand. It isn't easy. Amorphous blobs of power? That's not <em>too</em> hard. I can fairly easily shoot a bubble of Soul out that hits about as hard as a punch.</p>
<p>But making solid objects? I feel like I'm hitting my head against a wall, metaphorically speaking. I know it's possible, the Pure Vessel version of the Hollow Knight had several attacks where he launched spears of Soul at the player. But it seems like it's definitely a more advanced skill than I previously thought.</p>
<p>It's also worth noting that my soul creations are black, instead of white. This is probably due to the Shade Soul trait adding the Void to my Soul.</p>
<p>Practice like that keeps me busy during classes and makes it so I'm not just wasting time in them. But there is one class I do pay attention to, and that's Japanese. Because I haven't forgotten about my desire to bang Ms. Nakano, and today's the day I make it happen.</p>
<p>When lunch arrives, I make excuses with the girls, telling them I have something to take care of, and I leave the classroom. I head straight for the teacher's room, where all the teachers have their desks and take care of work. Once I'm invited in, I find Ms. Nakano and approach her.</p>
<p>Ms. Nakano might just be one of the hottest teachers I've ever seen. She's wearing a large white coat, a very short and tight black shirt, and black stockings. Her grayish-blue hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her glasses give her gaze a fierce look. It's amazing how many of my fetishes she ticks off.</p>
<p>"Axton!" she greets me. "What do you need?" Her emotions are all over the place. Curiosity, nervousness, and even arousal. I don't even have to use [Erotic Pierrot] on her, she's just conditioned to get aroused whenever she sees me now. That's not going to stop me from using it to increase her arousal even more though.</p>
<p>"Well, I was out last week, as you probably noticed," I say, making sure to act extra innocent. "And I was able to make up most of that work easily enough, but I'm having a bit of trouble when it comes to written Japanese. I've never been very good at it, and I was hoping you could help me. Maybe after school? Or whenever you have time?"</p>
<p>I've been preparing for this ploy for a while now, deliberately sandbagging when it comes to written Japanese tests and work. I haven't done poorly on them, only mediocre compared to my near-perfect scores in other subjects, which aren't perfect solely so I don't draw attention to myself. I want to craft an image of an intelligent student with a weakness due to my American birth.</p>
<p>"That's very admirable," she replies. The conflicting feelings inside of her get stronger. She's aware of how she reacts to me and is torn between wanting to give in and knowing she shouldn't. A small nudge with [Erotic Pierrot] is enough to make her arousal come out on top though, and she looks up at me with a smile. "In fact, if you'd like, we could get started right now, before class, and then continue after class. I'd be glad to help."</p>
<p>I beam at her. "That sounds perfect," I tell her as I draw up a seat next to her. My knee 'accidentally' bumps against hers, and [Increase Sensitivity] is there to make her far more aware of it. She tenses as I sit next to her, but forces herself to relax.</p>
<p>"So Axton, what is it you are having trouble with?" she asks, voice not giving anything away. Her self-control is better than I expected, but that only makes it more fun.</p>
<p>The two of us spend the rest of lunch going over the materials I pretend not to understand. And the entire time, I relentlessly do everything I can to increase her arousal. [Erotic Pierrot] is active the entire time. And I also have [Touch of Pleasure] active on myself and [Increase Sensitivity] active on her, and I frequently continue to accidentally brush against her whenever I think I can get away with it.</p>
<p>She holds on pretty well though. Part of it is that we're surrounded by other teachers. There's practically nothing she <em>can</em> do to respond. But still, she does a better job hiding her arousal than I expected. Her face barely reddens, and her breathing only grows slightly heavier. [Void Detect] notes that her panties are definitely damp though, and she does squirm a little. More importantly, she starts brushing up against me as well. At one point she even grabs my hand and guides it. The initiative she's showing is extremely promising.</p>
<p>As lunch draws to the end, I check her out with [Lewd Scouter].</p>
<p><strong>Mio Nakano<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Very High<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: Moderately High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 37<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Femdom, Edging, Rope Play</strong></p>
<p>That affection is still pretty low. But her arousal is high enough to make up for it. Probably. I should try to get it up a little bit anyway.</p>
<p>I stand up and grab my stuff. "Thanks a lot, Ms. Nakano," I tell her. "I really appreciate the help. The way you explain things makes a lot of sense, and I couldn't do it without you. You really are a great teacher."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+21 Affection with Mio Nakano<br/>Perk rewarded for 50 Affection with Mio Nakano<br/>[Teacher's Pet] - Increases Affection gain with teachers by 20%</strong>
</p>
<p>She blushes slightly. It seems actual compliments are more likely to make her blush than extreme arousal. And it really spiked up her Affection. Maybe because of the arousal? I'll keep that in mind. "Thank you, Axton," she responds. "You're an excellent student, and I'm glad to help you. That's what I'm here for after all."</p>
<p>"I look forward to our study session after school," I tell her with a small bow. "I'll see you in class, Ms. Nakano."</p>
<p>"See you then Axton," she replies with a smile. [Empathy] tells me that her nervousness has gone down a lot, and it's been replaced by anticipation. Has she made a decision? I hope so.</p>
<p>Japanese class after that is interesting. Ms. Nakano's arousal hasn't gone down at all. In fact, it increases slowly throughout the lesson. Especially whenever she looks in my direction. It's subtle, and I don't think even Aika has picked up on it, but since I know what to look for, I can see the signs. She's picking at her skirt a little more often than normal, she's pressing her thighs together when she walks, and her voice is just a little more breathy.</p>
<p>At one point she calls me to the front of the classroom to write something on the board. It's actually one of the things we went over during lunch, so I don't have to pretend to not know it or to make a slight mistake. When I get it right, she praises me and pats me on the shoulder, her hand lingering just a second longer than it strictly should have.</p>
<p>When I get back to my seat, Aika is grinning at me. I guess that was unsubtle enough for her to pick up on. She's pretty observant when it comes to things like this, and she knows what I'm like. I grin back and give her a wink, confirming her thoughts, and Aika has to hold back a laugh.</p>
<p>Class ends without anything else happening though, and I suffer through the final class of the day, unable to focus on training my skills as I think about what's going to happen after school. The downside of riling up Ms. Nakano is that I ended up getting myself excited as well.</p>
<p>When classes end, I make my excuses about having more business to take care of and ask Asia to let Sona know I wouldn't be in today. She's a little nervous about going by herself, but she agrees. Aika shoots me a knowing look and a wink as we separate, and I head straight for the teacher's room.</p>
<p>Ms. Nakano meets me at the door. "Axton, you're right on time!" she says cheerily. The signs of her arousal are starting to become a bit more obvious now. Her breathing is heavier, and she's squirming a little. "Come with me, we'll find it easier to focus in an empty classroom free of distractions," she says, leading me away.</p>
<p>"That's a good idea," I agree with her, grinning behind her back. Once again I stoke her arousal with [Erotic Pierrot], but to be honest, her arousal can't get much higher, not at my skill level at least. Her panties are already soaked from spending half the day so aroused, and the evidence is starting to run down her thigh.</p>
<p>She leads me to a classroom in the more remote part of the building, far away from the clubs and the other highly trafficked areas. She's definitely made a decision, or at least is really hoping for a certain outcome. And I'd hate to disappoint her.</p>
<p>As I go to sit down at one of the desks, she stops and takes off her jacket, revealing a white blouse underneath it. It's tight across her chest, which is moderately sized by DxD standards. "You don't mind if I take my jacket off, do you?" she asks. "It's starting to get a little warm."</p>
<p>"I don't mind," I say, 'clumsily' sneaking a look at her boobs, something she doesn't miss. She smiles at me in a friendly way, but already the walls of her self-restraint are starting to come down, and there's hunger in that smile.</p>
<p>We go back to the same thing we were doing during lunch, but now she's much more handsy. Her hands are often on my shoulders as she leans over my back, her boobs pushing against me, as she points out things in the textbook. All in all, it's obvious she's moved to trying to seduce me. So I let it happen.</p>
<p>As she sits down on top of the desk next to me, crossing and uncrossing her legs and flashing me each time, showing off her lacy black panties, I let myself get an obvious boner. A bulge appears in my pants as I harden, and I can feel her arousal spike when she notices it.</p>
<p>"Are you having a little trouble focusing, Axton?" she asks, gaze lingering on my crotch.</p>
<p>"I am a little distracted, yes," I admit, eyes flicking between her legs and her boobs.</p>
<p>"And what is it that has you so preoccupied?" She asks coyly. "You're the one that wanted this little session, didn't you?"</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I can afford to be a little forward here. "Being alone with such a beautiful woman has my head filled with all sorts of fantasies," I say with a bit of confidence.</p>
<p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Mio Nakano</strong>
</p>
<p>"Is that so?" she replies in a pleased voice. She gets up and walks behind me. I feel her hands once again on my shoulders, but she moves them forwards, traveling down my chest, feeling my body through my clothes. They don't stop until her hand curls around the bulge in my pants, sending a shiver through me. Her boobs are pressed against the back of my neck, and her mouth is right next to my ear. "Well, we can't have you distracted, now can we?" she whispers sensually into my ear as she tightens her grip around me.</p>
<p>I release a shaky breath of pleasure. "It is interfering with my learning," I agree.</p>
<p>She starts rubbing along the length of erection, only making me harder, and making my pants painfully tight. "As your teacher, it's my job to make sure your environment is conducive to learning," she says, her warm breath tickling my ear. "Why don't I help you out with your little- or not so little in this case- distraction?"</p>
<p>I swallow. "I would like that a lot, Ms. Nakano."</p>
<p>Keeping one hand on my crotch, she repositions herself to my side. Understanding what she's going for I turn as well, and we're left in a position where she's kneeling on the ground in front of me, undoing my pants. She looks directly into my eyes. "During this, you can call me Mio," she says. Immediately after, she pulls down my pants enough to cause my erection to spring upwards, revealing my rock hard ten inches, and her eyes lock on it.</p>
<p>I see her swallow, equal parts aroused and nervous. "I'm going to need more than just my hands for this," she comments. Her hands go to her collar, and I watch with hungry eyes as she starts unbuttoning her blouse, revealing her smooth pale skin, and her lacy black bra that matches her panties.</p>
<p>She removes her shirt entirely, and she doesn't stop there. Her arms reach behind her back and unclasp her bra, which drops to reveal a pair of perky breasts tipped by hardened nipples. She gives me a sultry smile. "You don't have to stare so hard you know," she says, though her tone is teasing. "I know you're not a virgin, I remember what I saw you and Kiryuu doing in class that day."</p>
<p>"Just because I've seen other tits doesn't mean I don't appreciate a beautiful set of them when they're right in front of me," I reply. I reach out to cup them in my hands. My fingers sink into her soft flesh, and she bites her lip to keep herself from moaning. But she also grabs my wrists and pulls my hands off of her.</p>
<p>"Now now," she chides me. "I'm the one in charge here. I know they're tempting, but I'm the teacher here." She moves forward, spreading my legs so she's just inches from me. "And I'm going to take care of your distraction for you." She leans forwards and wraps her tits around my shaft, using her hands to press her pillowy and warm flesh tight around me.</p>
<p>She's not as big as Rias or Akeno, but her tits still feel like heaven on my cock. She starts moving her tits with her hands, groping herself as she stimulates me. The smooth skin of her chest rubs against my erection, stimulating me. She watches my face in fascination as I react to the waves of pleasure her actions send through me.</p>
<p>And it's nice, though we're reaching the limits of what's pleasurable without any sort of lubrication. She must realize it too because as soon as I think that, she tears her gaze away from my face, looks down at the several inches of cock sticking out of her cleavage, and wraps her lips around the head of my penis.</p>
<p>I groan softly as her warm tongue swirls around my sensitive tip. Encouraged by my reaction, she takes more of it into her mouth, still moving her tits around. My hands instinctively grab onto her head, fingers tangling in her soft hair. She responds by starting to bob her head up and down, blowing me while she gives me a titjob.</p>
<p>A small, undistracted part of my mind notes how amateur her movements are. Like she has a vague idea of what to do, but this is her first time. The rest of me is too distracted by the heat of her sending tingles of pleasure through me that radiate from my cock. Her saliva slowly drips down my shaft, and it acts as a lubricant for her boobs, increasing the pleasure of their movements.</p>
<p>It only takes a few minutes for me to reach a climax. The sensations, the sight of her topless and blowing me, a look of rapture on her normally stern face, and the situation of getting a blowjob from a teacher in school is all too much for me. I buck my hips upwards and hold her head down as I cum, shooting ropes of my cum into her throat. Her eyes widen, but she doesn't make any move to pull back. I see her throat move as she swallows my load.</p>
<p>For once, I didn't change the flavor of my cum, not wanting to make anything stand out as strange to someone who has no idea about the supernatural side of the world. As I finish cumming, she slides her mouth off of my dick and sits back. A little bit of my cum trails down from the corner of her lips. She wipes it off with a finger before sticking said finger in her mouth.</p>
<p>She swallows one last time and then looks up at me. "That's not so bad actually," she comments. Her eyes sink down from my face to my still erect dick. "And I see that you're full of youthful energy still," she purrs.</p>
<p>"I'm still feeling pretty distracted," I comment. "Do you think you could keep helping me out?"</p>
<p>"I've got just the thing," she says, getting up. Once again, she sits back on the desk next to the one I'm sitting at, but this time she pulls her skirt up and spreads her legs wide, fully showing off her panties. Panties that she immediately pulls to the side, revealing her dripping cunt.</p>
<p>She looks at me but doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to, her pose and her expression are clear. She's horny, and she <em>needs</em> this. I stand up and position myself between her stocking-clad legs. She wastes no time wrapping them around me, pulling me closer to her.</p>
<p>I rub my length between her pussy lips, teasing her entrance. Her slit is extremely hot, and she moans as I rub against her, the effects of [Touch of Pleasure] and [Increase Sensitivity] still active, albeit at moderately low levels.</p>
<p>I think about teasing her more, but I'm getting impatient myself. I quickly apply [Imbue Elasticity] to make sure there aren't any issues, I line myself up, and then I push forward, sheathing my cock in her incredibly hot insides.</p>
<p>Even with [Imbue Elasticity], it's a struggle to get my entire length inside of her. The last few inches especially are difficult. But the way she screams out in pleasure, the orgasmic sound of her moans ringing in my ears, urges me to go as deep as I can.</p>
<p>I pause inside of her, and the both of us take a moment to catch our breath. Our eyes lock, and her chest heaves. [Empathy] picks up surprise, elation, nervousness, and all sorts of other emotions from her. But the biggest one by far is the pure ecstasy she feels. Her legs clamp tighter around me, and I don't need any more invitation than that to start moving.</p>
<p>Due to her legs holding me close, my thrusts are shallow, but each of them presses against the entrance to her womb and I make up for the lack of depth with speed. My thumb also finds her clit and presses against it, twirling it in circles.</p>
<p>Ms. Nakano cries out in pleasure and leans back. Her head is dangling off of the other side of the desk, and her breasts bounce with every thrust. All other emotions besides ecstasy have been washed away. "Oh god, Axton yes!" she cries out.</p>
<p>"Are you going to cum?" I ask her after a few minutes, as I feel her grow tighter and hotter. "Is your student's dick going to make you orgasm?" I feel her clench even tighter when I call myself her student. It seems like I'm not the only one who was interested in a scenario like this.</p>
<p>"Yes!" she cries out. "I'm going to cum!"</p>
<p>"Then cum for me, Sensei!" I demand as I increase my tempo even more. I don't have to wait long, and in fact, calling her sensei seems to have done it. I feel her tighten even more before her whole body shudders, an orgasm rippling through her.</p>
<p>I don't stop thrusting as she cums until I feel my own climax arrive. The instant before I cum, I pull out and thrust one last time against her entrance. Ropes of semen shoot from the tip of my penis to land on Ms. Nakano's bare skin, marking her stomach and tits with my seed.</p>
<p>As she recovers her breath, I keep rubbing my length against her entrance. I can feel the nub of her clit against my sensitive skin, and she shudders each time I press against it. "Are you still…distracted?" she asks.</p>
<p>"More than ever," I reply with a grin. "Maybe we should try another approach? Another...angle?" I say suggestively.</p>
<p>"That's a good idea," she says, smiling as well. She sits up and then gets off the desk. She walks a few steps away, to the front of the classroom, and places her hands on the teacher's podium. She bends over, presenting her juicy rear. Her dripping entrance is framed by her thick thighs, and it's one of the most enticing visuals I've ever seen.</p>
<p>"Maybe this method will yield better results," she says. She reaches back with one hand and pulls on one side of her pussy, spreading herself open. "As your teacher, I'll do whatever I can to accommodate your learning style."</p>
<p>She's really getting into the teacher thing huh? Well, so am I. I don't waste any time lining myself up behind her and thrusting into her. She puts both hands on the podium again to brace herself as she moans in pleasure.</p>
<p>Her cries echo through the empty room as I thrust into her from behind. Unlike before, I'm free to pull back quite a bit, so I can go for deep thrusts instead of small and rapid ones. Each one sends ripples through her ass cheeks, and I can see the lean muscles of her sweat-covered back tense up as she cries out in pleasure.</p>
<p>"You're getting fucked from behind by your student in the middle of a classroom," I tease her as I continue to pound into her. She responds by clenching tighter and moaning even louder. "Is this something you fantasize about? Is this the kind of teacher you are?"</p>
<p>"N-no," she denies, her voice unsteady. "This is- it's an exception."</p>
<p>"Ah, I see," I say. "You saw what Aika and I were doing and got jealous." She clenches tighter around me. "You saw your students messing around during class, and instead of getting mad, you decided you wanted the same thing. What a slutty teacher."</p>
<p>To my surprise, my words cause her to cum, her pussy walls convulsing around me as her knuckles go white with how tightly she's gripping the podium. She lets out a keening moan as she cums.</p>
<p>Isn't she supposed to be dominant? That's what her fetishes said, and she was definitely more on the dominant side at the start of this. Curious, I check her with [Lewd Scouter] again.</p>
<p><strong>Mio Nakano<br/></strong> <strong>Arousal: Very High<br/></strong> <strong>Perversion: High<br/></strong> <strong>Affection: 65<br/></strong> <strong>Orientation: Straight<br/></strong> <strong>Fetishes: Teacher/Student, Rope Play, Edging</strong></p>
<p>Interesting. The 'femdom' fetish had been replaced entirely with a teacher and student one. It's not the first time my actions have caused someone's fetishes to change. Hell, I pretty much determined the fetishes of anyone without any. Still, a change like this is bigger than expected. Maybe she was half into it already, and my actions and skills caused it to shoot up in ranking? I'm pretty sure some of the girls I've used [Lewd Scouter] on have more fetishes than the list shows, which makes me think it just prioritizes the biggest ones.</p>
<p>Well, either way, I'm fine with this. I'm enjoying this a lot myself. I keep thrusting into her through her orgasm, causing her to groan in a ragged tone.</p>
<p>"I know I'm a bad teacher," she says after her climax finishes. "I shouldn't be thinking about my students like that."</p>
<p>"Nah, you're the best teacher," I say, fingers gripping tighter around her hips. "You're sexy, you feel fantastic, and you do a good job teaching too." I speed up my thrusts, my own orgasm approaching. "So I really hope you keep teaching me because you're my favorite teacher."</p>
<p>
  <strong>+8 Affection with Mio Nakano</strong>
</p>
<p>She cums again, moaning loudly, and I cum as well. Once again, I pull out at the last second and shoot my load onto her bare skin, this time covering her back with semen. I take a moment to appreciate the sight of my white seed all over her as she catches her breath again. It makes me want to keep going, but a quick glance at the time tells me I can't. Clubs are about to let out, and I need to be home soon for some business with Serafall.</p>
<p>Before she can turn around and see me still erect, I pull up my pants and hide my erection. At the sound of me getting dressed, she starts to come down from her ecstasy high, emotions settling. Only for them to immediately start spiking again with panic.</p>
<p>"I can't believe I just did that," I hear her say to herself. "What is wrong with you Mio? That's your student!"</p>
<p>Oh goddammit. I thought I nipped this in the bud with my little speech just now. I guess it didn't stick with her mind filled with pleasure. Plan B it is then.</p>
<p>"Mio," I call out to her. She gets up and looks back at me, her emotions a riling mess, and it shows on her face. This won't do at all. As we make eye contact, I activate [Hypnotize]. "What we did wasn't wrong. We both wanted it, and we just had some fun. Nobody was hurt. Doing it with your students is wrong, but I'm an exception to that rule, so you can have sex with me. That is perfectly okay." I don't want her sleeping with her other students after all. Just me.</p>
<p>"I- I see," she says, immediately calming down as the suggestion settles in. Hypnosis is useful stuff, huh? "I guess I just got a little confused."</p>
<p>I smile at her reassuringly. "It's fine, it was pretty intense, getting a little mixed up isn't strange." [Hypnotize] isn't a skill I use too often, but maybe I should change that. Not to seduce girls, I have more than enough tools at my disposal for that. Or well, nobody important anyways. Hypnotizing some random girl or some NPC sounds like it could be fun. Maybe on a date with Kyu? She seemed to like me using it on that waiter, might be another secret fetish of hers.</p>
<p>But no, it's not needed for anyone important. The chase is the best part of seduction, taking a shortcut like [Hypnotize] would be no fun. But for things like this? For tidying up messes and stopping problems before they become problems? Its usefulness can't be overstated.</p>
<p>"We should probably wrap up the lesson here," I say as I bring my attention back to the current situation. "As much as I would like to continue, it's starting to get late."</p>
<p>She nods, gathering her wits. "Right, yeah." Then she smiles at me flirtatiously. "If you ever want another lesson, let me know. I'll happily make some time for you."</p>
<p>"I'll make sure to take you up on that," I reply with a grin. I pick my bag up and head for the door. "I'll go ahead and leave first. I'll see you in class tomorrow Ms. Nakano."</p>
<p>I leave the classroom and start the trek to the Student Council room to pick up Asia before we go home. Banging a teacher took way too long, but it was worth the wait. I'll definitely have to play more with her later. Until then, I have business to take care of. I'm especially looking forward to tonight, because according to a text from Serafall I got this afternoon, Riser's old Peerage is ready, and today's the day they move in with me. And I can't wait.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And we’re back! Phew, it was a long break, but it feels good to be writing again. Wait, what do you mean it’s only been a month since I last updated? That can’t be right, it felt like so much longer than that. Well, whatever. I’ve read the (relevant) DxD novels and I have a rough map of the rest of this fic, and the whole time I was just itching to write again.</p>
<p>In my planning, I made sure to leave room for me to add or change stuff, but I made it detailed enough to help guide me and make the whole thing more coherent. In terms of how far we are now, I’d put us at roughly 20%-25% of the way through things, at least in terms of the number of planned arcs. I’m bad at estimating stuff though, so take that with a few grains of salt.</p>
<p>Anyways, on to the current arc. This one is going to be a little slower, but there’s also going to be a lot going on. It’s mostly set up for the main plot I have planned out, and establishing characters and character relationships. And just good old-fashioned slice of life plot and smut, which I enjoy writing.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten a couple comments concerned that I have too many girls in Axton’s harem. To those comments, I can only reply that yes, you are absolutely right. But I don’t plan on slowing down. What I do plan on though, is prioritizing. Some girls will be seduced and will show up less often after that point. Things will vary from character to character, but it’s a necessity to do this. I can’t progress things while giving every girl the attention they deserve. No, I won’t provide a list of which ones are important. Partially because that list keeps fluctuating. You’ll be able to tell based on how much screen time they get. I’m sorry if your favorite girl doesn’t get much screen time, just know that these sacrifices aren’t easy for me either.</p>
<p>As for the current chapter, I decided to start out slow for the first one, to ease back into things. But even so, I ticked off a few things. The date with Sona has been secured(finally), the teacher has been banged(also finally), Sakuya has been summoned and already Axton is working on corrupting her. Axton is definitely enjoying his new mansion life.</p>
<p>Sorry things were kinda info-dumpy this chapter. But I know not all of my readers are familiar with the same settings as I am, and some of them are vague and up to interpretation, so explaining them and my take on them is important so everyone can understand. I’ll try not to do it too often, but it’s one of the downsides of multicross stuff. Either exclude some readers from understanding, or dump some info on everyone, and I’d rather do the latter.</p>
<p>On the topic of Sakuya: Yes, she’s extremely OP. No, she’s not as OP as some of her apparent feats say she is. Deciding how strong I was going to make her when those numbers are so hard to come by and vague/circumstantial wasn’t easy, but this is what I’ve decided. Not that it matters, because like she said in the chapter, she won’t be a front-line combatant. Also, I admit, I don’t know a ton about Touhou, and I struggled to find stuff that would give me a good read on Sakuya’s past and personality. I have a vague idea, but I’m gonna be filling in a lot of gaps. Sorry if she’s not consistent with her canon or fanon depictions. Also, no, that isn’t an invitation to send me Touhou stuff. At the end of the day, I’m not willing to devote that much time to make sure a minor-ish character is completely accurate.</p>
<p>A reminder: Pictures of characters can be found on Axton’s character sheet. Check out the Relationships tab and click the link.</p>
<p>And last but not least, I’d like to give a shoutout to my beta, Qtaro Cujoh, who has been indispensable in helping me write and plan everything. This fic would be very different(for the worse) without his help. He’s just started writing his own fic, an MHA SI called “The One Who Could”, check it out here:<br/>FF: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13863832/1/The-One-Who-Could-MHA-SI<br/>QQ: https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/the-one-who-could-mha-si.14688/</p>
<p>Anyways, I’m glad to be back at writing, I really missed it. Thanks for your patience and I’ll see you guys next chapter!</p>
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